This Holiday Season at LeQuire Gallery
The Nature of Wood III: Sculpture – Wood Turnings – Works on Paper
Olen Bryant | Susie Campion | William Kooienga | Brenda Stein | Caleb Woodard

Sculpture, Wood-turnings, & Works on Paper

This Holiday Season

The Nature of Wood is an all encompassing tribute to the organic material of wood and the many ways it can be translated, with sculpture (small to extra large-scale), wood turnings, works on paper and even a book signing. LeQuire Gallery first presented The Nature of Wood in 2009 with great success, calling for a successful refrain in 2013. The material of wood, in all its many forms, resonates with a wide audience and therefore remains one of the most well-attended exhibits in the gallery’s history on Charlotte Avenue. Alan LeQuire helped pioneer the West Nashville corridor, opening his gallery in December of 2003. With a 15-year celebration coming up, we thought it would be a wonderful idea to revisit one of the gallery’s most popular group shows and concepts this holiday season with The Nature of Wood III.

The majority of the materials the Nature of Wood artists search for are from salvaged logs found within the state. The list of indigenous hardwoods reads like a botanist’s who’s who including wild cherry, oak, black walnut, poplar, magnolia, box elder, spalted maple, plum, osage orange, catalpa, even hackberry. The work offers the best of the region, heirloom quality, and if considering a gift, an idyllic way to say “Tennessee”.

Original participants William Kooienga and Brenda Stein will return with new work. Special guests include sculptor, Caleb Woodard and painter/designer, Susie Campion; and we are especially delighted to be able to offer the genius of the late Olen Bryant, in cooperation with his estate. Jocelyn Wurzburg will also be stopping on her current tour signing copies of her new memoir of Civil Rights Activism, from 1pm-3pm.

Participants:
Brenda Stein returns with an array of impeccable wood-turnings as well as a new series of cleverly designed boxes perfect for holiday gifts. Stein, well-known for “rescuing” wood from renowned sites such as Warner Parks, has 2 pieces in this year’s collection created from a fallen cherry tree found at Nashville’s historic Glen Leven Estate – a 150-year-old Oak Hill home that served as a field hospital in the Battle of Nashville.

Master sculptor William Kooienga pledges work that continues the exceptional large-scale sculptures we’ve come to expect from him including 2 new massive oak spheres carved “away from the heart” from a fallen tree he found near Smithville. This extremely talented sculptor is totally self-taught, his interest in carving and sculpture beginning as a young boy working soap, ice, wood, and native alabaster. Preserving his deep connection and regard for nature, the work is consistent, emphasizing the beauty of organic materials with sensual lines and surfaces. Whether small or large-scale, abstract or figurative, collectors appreciate the broad range of form this talented sculptor offers.

The late Olen Bryant was head of sculpture at Austin Peay State University. His artwork is widely collected around the United States and is a part of many museum collections, including the Hunter Museum of American Art in Chattanooga, the Tennessee State Museum of Art and the Cheekwood Museum of Art in Nashville. Bryant created his signature style decades ago altering very little over the years from his original, distinctive approach. He is one of a handful of artists whose initial ideas continue to transcend, mesmerize and hold up beautifully over time. He is a 2007 recipient of the Governor’s Distinguished Artist Award (the state of Tennessee’s highest award recognizing the visual arts).

Caleb Woodard is a designer and second-generation furniture maker. In 2005 he founded his original studio in Washington, D.C., and in 2013 he moved his studio to the historic district of his hometown in Springfield, Tennessee. He designs and creates very unique functional, yet sculptural pieces, continually pushing the boundaries of form and function with a passion for the organic. Woodard is extremely popular on Instagram, with over 30.K followers, and extremely popular with New York and L.A. designers, constantly shipping work to both coasts. Long overdue is his introduction to Nashville. We are so pleased that collectors will be able to make his acquaintance during the LeQuire Gallery Holiday Show.

Works on paper come in many forms and this year’s collection offers an element of rich, sophisticated color to the exhibit by way of painter/designer Susie Campion. Her collection of ‘Botanical Interpretations’ were inspired by studies of 18th century drawings – drawings that set the standard for depicting and documenting the form and grace of all plants. Her new work is a 21st Century Interpretation – a combination of inspiration from her own garden and the antique botanical drawings that she so admires.
The Nature of Wood III continues through January 12.

Tennessean Feature Article: https://www.tennessean.com/story/life/arts/2018/12/06/art-lequire-gallery-exhibition-spotlights-tennessee-woodworkers/2194914002/