Nashville Art Exhibits

During the last couple of months, I visited the downtown Nashville Public Library on several occasions. For some reason, I have a renewed excitement about utilizing the call number system, searching the aisles, and checking out books. On a recent visit, I wandered to the exhibit space on the second floor (also known as the Courtyard Gallery) and was pleasantly greeted by a collection of letterpress prints. On view through September 27, the exhibition, “Telling the Story: Letterpress Printing and Community” is centered around Middle Tennessee State University’s working replica of an 18th century printing press. The reproduction was handcrafted in 2004 and 2005 using chestnut and white oak wood from a 100-year-old house in Virginia, and brass, iron and steel parts were forged by hand. The exhibit features photos of the printing press and works by teachers, college students, alumni, and elementary school students who have printed on this press. The exhibition also showcases works printed on the Vandercook and Poplar Press at MTSU and the Goldsmith Press at Austin Peay State University. This inspirational (and free) show is definitely worth a visit and it’s also nice to have a moment to relax in the library’s courtyard (accessible from the second floor.)

Image: Chuck Close. Emma/Woodcut, 2002. Pace Editions Ink, New York, printer (Yasu Shibata). Pace Editions, Inc., New York, publisher. Courtesy of Pace Editions, Inc. and the artist.

The Frist Center for Visual Arts recently opened Chuck Close Prints: Process and Collaboration. Although I have not yet seen the exhibition, I hear it is a must-see show. The exhibit contains prints and multiples produced since 1972, at which time “Chuck Close’s introduction to the collaborative processes of printmaking led him to experiment with the marks contained within each gridded cell, sometimes challenging the boundary between realism and abstraction.” To learn more, visit the exhibit’s website and check out some of the programs associated with the exhibition, including a print-making workshop in early August–what fun!

Photographer - Nashville, TN
Adrian Hitt Photography
www.adrianhitt.com
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