The Monthaven gallery at the Monthaven Arts & Cultural Center (MACC) in Hendersonville presents between local, regional and international exhibitions every year. It’s always fun to check out — and FREE!
UPCOMING MONTHAVEN EXHIBITS:
Mark Kostabi in Venice City of Enchantment
Now through March 24
The MACC celebrates Black History with the illustrations of the noted Tennessee artist Michael J. McBride. His exhibition features more than 60 of his illustrations for children’s books. Works in this collection celebrate the Gullah-Geechee language and culture of the Carolinas, and they also pay tribute to the great African-American artist Helen LaFrance. McBride is a master of figurative art. His virtuosity in painting people comes through in his sensitive renderings of a child and his grandmother.
McBride will be on hand for the opening on Feb. 17, 2024 to sign the following books, which include his illustrations: ‘S’ is for Sweetgrass: The ABCs of Gullah-Geechee by Dr. Triba Gray Davis;” She Remembered It All: The Art of Memory Painter Helen LaFrance” by Jayne Moole Waldrop; and Tickle Me Grandma by Delphine Pierce.
48th Annual James B. Hawkins Student Art Show
March 30 to April 19, 2024
Every spring, some of the most gifted young artists in Sumner County showcase their art at the MACC as part of the Annual James B. Hawkins Sumner County Student Art Show.
This indispensable art exhibition is open to all Sumner County middle and high school art students. Each school is allowed to enter up to 10 pieces of artwork in five categories: drawing, painting, 3D, Mixed Media, and Animation. In 2023, more than 170 students displayed nearly 200 art works at the MACC. Independent art experts were brought in to evaluate the students’ art, and prizes were awarded.
Student Art Show prizes include awards for “Winning Art Department,” “Best of Show” and “Director’s Pick,” along with First, Second, and Third Place ribbons and cash prizes for painting, sculpture, drawing, photography, digital art, printmaking, animation and mixed media. Participating middle school and high school art teachers also receive recognition and cash prizes. The 2023 exhibition’s premier sponsor was Nossi College of Art & Design. The college awarded substantial scholarships to Sumner County’s amazing art students.
1968: A Folsom Redemption
April 6 to May 25, 2024
Monthaven Arts and Cultural Center celebrates Johnny Cash’s best-known performances by presenting the exhibition 1968: A Folsom Redemption. The 31 photos in this exhibit cover a critical juncture in the career of Johnny Cash, one of the 20th century’s most beloved performers.
In January 1968, Johnny Cash was at a crossroads. His music career, in a slow decline for several years, was in need of a smash hit. He had recently straightened out his personal life, and leadership changes at his record label meant he was able to finally convince them of the merits of a live recording in a prison setting. Cash had been performing for inmates as far back as 1957, when he received a stream of requests from prisoners who identified with the man who sang “Folsom Prison Blues.”
Working as freelance journalists, photographer Dan Poush and writer Gene Beley met with Cash and his family the day before the concerts began. The Reverend Floyd Gressett, a friend of Cash’s who ministered to inmates, helped set up the show at Folsom State Prison. After practicing the set with the Tennessee Three at Hotel El Rancho the night before, on January 13, 1968, Cash, along with opening acts Carl Perkins and the Statler Brothers, performed two separate shows in the dining hall at Folsom. Notable for capturing Cash’s ability to connect with his audience, the recordings crackled with the excitement of an adoring crowd. The resulting album, At Folsom Prison, was released four months later to critical and popular acclaim.
Attributes of a Visionary
April 28, 2024 to June 2, 2024
The renowned contemporary artist Kevin “Kre8” Vigil will be the featured artist for Monthaven Arts and Cultural Center’s Fifth Annual Moonlight & Magnolias fundraiser. Born in Germany in 1980 to a German mother and a father of Mexican descent serving in the Army, Kre8 first gained prominence as a graffiti and tattoo artist. He later shifted his focus to painting, becoming popular with art collectors after his breakthrough showing at the 2018 Art Basel contemporary art fair in Miami, Fla.
Kre8’s unique artistic style, known as Kre8tizm, captivated collectors, drawing admirers from all walks of life and age groups. Described as a blend of modern-contemporary abstract and surrealism with elements of pop and street art, Kre8tizm is a visual representation of the artist’s philosophy. Notably, all of Kre8’s characters are faceless, a deliberate response to the judgment he experienced due to the tattoos on his own face. He implores others not to judge him based on appearances but rather by his outlook on life and his artistic vision.
In his artwork, Kre8 employs black-and-white to symbolize the stark reality between truth and lies that permeate our world. Color, on the other hand, represents us, emphasizing the diversity and vibrancy that each individual brings to the world. Kre8’s style has garnered tremendous acclaim, leading to more than 30 sold-out exhibitions across the globe.
Hello Dalí!
August 24 to October 13, 2024
Welcome to the captivating world of Salvador Dalí, a visionary artist whose work transcends the boundaries of conventional artistry. Salvador Dalí was one of the most captivating and challenging artists of the 20th century. While many remember Dalí for his notorious reputation, he was also a deeply spiritual man and frequently used his singular Surrealist perspective to illustrate scenes taken straight from the Bible.
In 1951, Salvador Dalí embarked on a 14-year project to create original engravings illustrating Dante’s epic poem “The Divine Comedy.” Dalí’s attention to detail was meticulous—he created over 100 watercolor studies, worked tirelessly with the publisher, and even personally approved the more than 3,000 woodblocks used for the engravings. The final result was a series of 100 breathtaking engravings bringing the classic poem to life.
Join as we explore the mesmerizing world of Dalí’s Divine Comedy engravings, where the surreal meets the sacred, and the ordinary is transformed into the extraordinary.
Located at 1017 Antebellum Circle in Hendersonville, Monthaven gallery hours are Tuesday – Saturday from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1 – 5 p.m. For more information, visit monthavenartsandculturalcenter.com or call 615-822-0789.
