Echo Gallery

noreply@blogger.com (Echo Gallery) — Tue, 22 Sep 2015 04:31:00 +0000

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT:

Echo Gallery is closing. Our last day of business will be Sunday, January 16, 2011. While we are sad to close our doors, we are all very grateful for the opportunity to share our work and the work of other Asheville-area artists with you, and we are all eternally grateful for the opportunity given us by Biltmore Park and for the support we have received as artists and as a gallery.

We will leave this website and our email active for patron inquiries. If you'd like to contact an artist you found at Echo Gallery, please email us or use the contact form here on the website. All of our artists are in the Asheville area, and hopefully you'll be able to see their work in other fine galleries or at upcoming shows. We thank you again for your support, and hope you'll continue to support our local artists and small businesses.

A few photo memories:

Echo Gallery at Biltmore Park has been a joint venture between Biltmore Farms and local Asheville artists.

Echo Gallery donates 5% of all sales to MANNA FoodBank.

Check out our neighborhood! www.biltmorepark.com

Artist Profile: Kimberly P. Anderson

noreply@blogger.com (Echo Gallery) — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 16:23:00 +0000

Kimberly Anderson is self taught and has been drawing since she was 3 years old. She is foremost an illustrator, which lends itself well for a variety of art.

She works in many mediums, including pen, ink & watercolor, Sgrafitto on board, block printing, and silk painting.

A native of beautiful western North Carolina, Kimberly is also a graphic designer with more than 20 years experience in the publication/advertising industry. She is also an instructor for Silk Painting Workshops at AB Tech in Asheville, NC.

Artist Profile: Alicia Chatham

noreply@blogger.com (Echo Gallery) — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 15:36:00 +0000

Alicia Chatham was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1974 and moved to South Carolina at a young age. She attended the University of South Carolina and the University of North Carolina at Asheville where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a focus in oil painting. Two of the pieces from her Senior Exhibition are on permanent display in UNCA's Lipinsky Auditorium.

Alicia creates spaces and environments that lend themselves to introspection of a subconscious nature. Within the dream-like landscapes, her use of color invokes a mystery that pulls the viewer in to otherworldly playfulness.

Alicia also creates hand formed and hammered sterling silver jewelry which usually can be seen alongside her paintings.

Artist Profile: Jennifer Berkowitz

noreply@blogger.com (Echo Gallery) — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 01:26:00 +0000

Jennifer Berkowitz with Bunter and Petey

Most people who photograph famous gardens focus on the layouts and landscape. I've chosen to focus on specific flowers/plants and insects/butterflies that are a single part of the landscape.

My photographs are primarily from famous NC gardens, such as Biltmore and Duke Gardens, but some are from famous gardens in England, such as Great Dixter and Sissinghurst Castle Gardens.

A native of the District of Columbia, Jennifer earned an M.A. from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and a B.A. from Dickinson College. She resides in South Asheville with her husband Mark and their two dogs, Bunter and Petey.

noreply@blogger.com (Echo Gallery) — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 18:06:00 +0000

Echo Gallery presents the "12 Days of Christmas"

noreply@blogger.com (CGS) — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 21:02:00 +0000

Echo Gallery will be hosting a special exhibit of paper sculptures by artist Leo Monahan beginning on December 2 and continuing through the end of the year.

'A Partridge in a Pear Tree'

The exhibit includes a remarkable series depicting the “12 Days of Christmas.” The Gallery is hosting a public reception on Friday, December 10, from 5 – 8 pm, and Leo will be giving an informal talk about his work on Wednesday, December 15, at 6 pm.

About Leo Monahan:

Born in 1933 in the Black Hills of South Dakota, Leo was graduated from high school in June of 1950, the start of the Korean War. He then spent the next four years in the Navy on Far East operations.

Shortly after his discharge, he entered Chouinard Art Institute where, with the exception of his first semester, he was a Disney Scholar.

In 1960, he began his career as a graphic designer, and did his first paper sculpture. His work has been used by numerous clients in publishing, advertising and promotion and he is still very busy in these areas of illustration.

His fine art began in about 1980, and for the most part is based on his memories of life as a young boy at the foot of Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills - a life peopled with miners, loggers, cowboys, farmers, and the Sioux. The work is entirely symbolic of the elements that were around him at that time, especially the plants, animals and artifacts. Unique in portraying these images with the paper-sculpture collage medium, Leo's techniques are a blend of both Impressionism and Surrealism

The recipient of numerous awards, Leo is twice past-president of the Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles, and a recipient of their Life Achievement Award. He is also a 35-year participant of the U.S. Air Force documentary art program, as well as founder of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's documentary art program.

He currently resides in North Carolina with his wife, Karen, a foreign correspondent, who enables Leo to live life like "God in France!" His staff consists of two dogs and a cat.

Leo is represented by the Bohemian Gallery, and his work can be viewed at www.leomonahan.com

Artist Profile: Susan Webb Lee

noreply@blogger.com (Echo Gallery) — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 22:37:00 +0000

Susan Webb Lee moved to the Asheville area in 2004. She maintains a studio in Barnardsville where she lives with her husband and lots of animals. Susan is an exhibiting member of the Southern Highland Craft Guild, as well as Piedmont Craftsmen, Inc., and several art-quilt related organizations. Susan has been making textile art since 1979, and has exhibited nationally and in six foreign countries. Her work is included in many museums and private collections, most notably that of Jack Lenor Larsen in New York CIty.

Susan uses combinations of her own hand-dyed fabrics with commercially printed textiles, and creates designs that are both technically precise yet often unconventional. She uses predominately cotton fabrics, but occasionally will add blends or silks to her palette. Beads, paint, metallic thread, and resist techniques are frequently used to aid in the creative process. The quilts are intended to evoke curiosity and interest in the myriad ways of working with color and pattern.

Artist Profile: Lori Theriault

noreply@blogger.com (Echo Gallery) — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 22:31:00 +0000

Lori Theriault creates functional pottery that wants to be touched and used. Texture, both tactile and visual, informs her work. Her inspiration comes from the natural world as well as from the layers of texture in all her relationships. Most works originate on the wheel, and use non-toxic clay and glazes.

Born in Vermont, Lori has been semi-nomadic in address and in career, having worked as a stage manager, innkeeper, restaurant manager, and office manager in Atlanta, Chicago and Washington DC. She began her clay studies in Washington DC in 2001, and after seeing slides of western North Carolina during a visiting artist workshop, she decided to relocate to Asheville in 2006.

Her current design around trees is inspired by the community that surrounds her, both in nature and the human forms. Each with their own attitude and expression, yet all share much in common at the root.

Artist Profile: Dawn Dalto

noreply@blogger.com (Echo Gallery) — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 22:17:00 +0000

The need to work and create with her hands has been a life long driving force for Dawn Dalto. As a child she learned needlework from her grandmothers. This skill later led to working with needlewoven beadwork. When introduced to clay in 2006, she merged the problem solving and attention to detail of these mediums into her work with clay.

Dawn's ceramic work is both decorative and functional. Forms are mathematically configured with attention to their structure and use, both as individual objects and part of a larger grouping. She considers how the theme of each object will interact to form a family grouping with another.

Creating both decorative and functional work allows Dawn the opportunity to explore in different ways. She has the luxury of creating designs that will be purely for decorative enjoyment as well as the challenge of how to incorporate some of those same themes into objects that will be used in daily life.

Artist Profile: Anna Koloseike

noreply@blogger.com (Echo Gallery) — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 22:10:00 +0000

Anna Koloseike's subjects explore our shared human experience, sometimes in the emotional realm, and often in a social or cultural context. Her sculpture references those influences in our lives which require response - do we sing with the choir, or turn away? Anna also explores the commonalities between cultures, ancient and modern, posing such questions as, "How might our concept of fashion derive from more ancient sources?"

Anna's work invites identification, reflection, and questioning - and invites the viewer's stories in response.

Anna studied art at SUNY Buffalo (BFA) and at RIT (Rochester, NY-MST degree). After a career of teaching art to young adults in New England and in China, she became a full time artist when she moved to Asheville in 2006. Originally from New York City, she still returns there for family and to immerse herself in the art scene. She maintains her ceramic studio in heart of Asheville's River Arts District.

Artist Profile: Katherine Aimone

noreply@blogger.com (Echo Gallery) — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 22:02:00 +0000

Katherine Duncan Aimone earned her undergraduate degrees in painting and German language at Georgia Southern University, and her MA in art history from Florida State University. She focused on a career in curatorial work and consequently worked as a museum professional for 15 years at various institutions. In 1998, when she moved to Florida to serve as the director of the DeLand Museum of Art, she met Steven Aimone, her future husband.

Shortly thereafter, she moved back to Asheville, where she worked as an editor/writer for Lark Books. Aimone's name is on the cover of many of Lark's books, including The Fiberarts Book of Wearable Art. Throughout her career, she has written essays for artists as well as art-related articles for newspapers and magazines.

Until three years ago, Aimone pursued painting during her spare time. Three years ago she committed herself to pursuing it professionally. During 2010 she has shown in two-person shows at the Asheville Area Arts Council in Asheville, NC and at Village Studios & Gallery in Greenville, SC. She is currently involved in creating a body of work to show in galleries and museums.

Since 2001, she and Steve Aimone have owned and operated Aimone Art Services. The company provides workshops, coaching, critique, and writing for artists. The Aimones divide their time between Asheville, North Carolina, and Monhegan Island, Maine.

Artist Profile: Cindy Walton

noreply@blogger.com (Echo Gallery) — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 21:59:00 +0000

Cindy Walton's work as a whole represents the emotional side of dealing with the trials and triumphs of life. Consciously she continues to push away from concrete images in order to achieve communication with the viewer through paint and marks.

According to Leonard Brooks in Painting and Understanding Abstract Art, "with the deserting of common images and the search for a newer and deeper imagery drawn from the inner self, the problem becomes more complex and the projection of this inner consciousness a more abstruse matter." Through the layers of oil paint and the accumulation of marks she creates depth and history that is unique to each piece and speaks to tenderness of life as well as the complexities and realities each of us experience.

As the thoughts and emotions flow she becomes more concerned about the application of marks and paint than creating a representational figure. She finds that for herself, this is the purest form of communication through paint.

Artist Profile: Laurie McCarriar

noreply@blogger.com (Echo Gallery) — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 21:52:00 +0000

Laurie McCarriar uses photography as source and palette to create digital images printed on canvas. Her work captures the colors, textures, and patterns in the landscape and details of the natural world.

The photos taken in nature are but a starting point for the artwork Laurie creates on the computer. Photos are often combined and layered. In other works, the connections between a series of seemingly random images are revealed through display in a grid.

The Ring Series, Laurie's latest project, explores connection and pattern in landscape from an eirial perspective. Consisting of sixteen interchangeable pieces, panels can be rotated and re-arranged to make new patterns, just as the landscape and flora itself shifts with daily weather, the change of seasons, and the passage of time.

Laurie has worked in museum research, exhibit production and design, digital photo restoration, and fine art printing during her 30 year career in the arts. Relocated from her home in Virginia's Piedmont to the mountains of North Carolina, Laurie's true studio is all around us!

Artist Profile: Genie Maples

noreply@blogger.com (CGS) — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 23:57:00 +0000

Genie Maples was selected by WNC Magazine and the Asheville Area Arts Council as one of the top ten emerging artists in Western North Carolina in 2009. Her work has been exhibited in Atlanta, Asheville, New York, Pittsburgh, and Nashville, and her paintings hang in collections across the United States and in over a dozen other countries.

About her work, Genie says,

“I paint in oils. The foundation of my work is transparency, though I do employ opaque colors to obscure. I’m driven by color and light, but have become more fascinated by balance and boundary in the last year or twos. My work is abstract, driven by process and internal exploration, but for the current body of work, I’ve narrowed my focus to explore the very primal visual cue of horizon. It provides a sense of groundedness, security, and expansiveness. I think as my work has evolved, it has become less about expression of my current state or position, and more an exploration of what I want to experience. If I can evoke it, perhaps I can embrace it.”

Artist Profile: Alex Stevens

noreply@blogger.com (CGS) — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 23:41:00 +0000

Alex Stevens has sought to solve problems and understand how things work his entire life. As a child he disassembled and reconstructed not only his toys but a lot of his parents' things as well. Sometimes these things worked as intended when put back together and sometimes they didn't and sometimes they found entirely new functional schemes—very little is necessary to make a lamp fry eggs.

This curiosity led him to explorations of chemistry and anthropology and finally a philosophy degree as an undergraduate. His interests then turned to creating objects from raw materials including metal and wood. A five year apprenticeship with a master carver/furniture maker provided him with the technical skills to “make wood dance.”

Since 2004 Alex has worked as a full time sculptor building furniture by commission and speculative fantasies from his studio tucked in the North Carolina mountains.

Artist Profile: Brian Fireman

noreply@blogger.com (CGS) — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 23:31:00 +0000

Brian Fireman is a furniture designer specializing in hand-crafted contemporary furniture. Formal education in both geology and architecture, fascination with wood as an organic material, and a passion for the creative process of designing and building have all contributed to the development of his work. Travels to Nepal, India, and South America have all profoundly influenced his furniture designs.

His work is very process-oriented, where the individual qualities of wood, such as color, texture, and grain direction are used to influence the final form a given piece might take. His awareness of the tectonic nature of building in which form becomes a reflection of structure and forces, invest his furniture with a sculptural quality.

Brian's work has been exhibited nationally and published in a variety of magazines. He works from his studio in Tryon, North Carolina.

Artist Profile: Timothy Maddox

noreply@blogger.com (CGS) — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 22:57:00 +0000

Timothy Maddox is an artist/designer/craftsman, born and raised in rural Indiana, working with a variety of materials in an assortment of formats.

Upon receiving a Bachelors of Fine Art from Kendall College of Art & Design in 2007, he was awarded a Windgate Fellowship for his artistic merit and potential to contribute to the advancement of his field. During his fellowship, Maddox established a workshop in Asheville, NC.

He is currently creating furniture, product designs, and artworks in that workshop, discovering how he can advance the varied fields of his passions.

Artist Profile: Jennifer Goff

noreply@blogger.com (Echo Gallery) — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 23:51:00 +0000

Jennifer Goff discovered her passion for ceramics while attending a brief summer study at Haywood Community College with Gary Cluntz in 1989. Later, she received a BFA with a concentration in ceramics and certification to teach from UNC-Greensboro.

After spending many years teaching in the classroom, she chose to stay at home with her children and work exclusively on a line of porcelain ware that is functional while sculptural. Most pieces begin on the wheel and are then hand sculpted, making each a one-of-a-kind creation. These little sculptures are intended for every day use rather than to sit on a mantle collecting dust.

She is happy to have the opportunity to bring joy and conversation to people’s table.

Artist Profile: Heather Allen-Swarttouw

noreply@blogger.com (Echo Gallery) — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 23:41:00 +0000

Heather Allen-Swarttouw is a mixed media artist. The idea of the vessel, relationships and the metaphor of a journey inspires her work. A boat symbolizes a journey and a vessel can symbolize self, they are both personal and universal. These vessels are enigmatic being boat pod shapes or pod tool shapes or tool vessel shapes.

She received her BFA degree in painting and sculpture from the University of New Hampshire and her MFA degree in textiles from the University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth. Her work has been shown in numerous venues including the Wustum Museum of Fine Art, WI, Mint Museum of Craft and Design, NC, Asheville Art Museum, NC, Atlanta International Museum of Art, GA, American Institute of Architects, DC, Wesserling Textile Museum, France, and the Singapore Art Museum.

Her work is in the collection of the Racine Art Museum, WI, North Carolina Arts Commission, Fidelity Investments, MA, First Union Bank, NC, Trans Financial Bank, TN, and the Biltmore Estate, NC. She has received a NEA Regional Fellowship, a TN Arts Commission Fellowship and two artist residencies at Centrum Center for the Arts (WA).

Artist Profile: Holly de Saillan

noreply@blogger.com (Echo Gallery) — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 23:37:00 +0000

Holly de Saillan’s work is an echo of the world that surrounds her. She experiences life through her various senses and allows her hands to form representations of that life from clay. Through this process of raw creation, she hopes to connect others to the complexity and mystery of life and bring to all a sense of wonder.

Her work is very organic in form; clay, unlike many other mediums is not far removed from the earth in which it was created. Having such a close connection with the natural environment allows her work to be extremely dynamic and spontaneous. There are few constants in her ever-evolving work; color, shape, and texture all seem to oscillate and surprise, which to her, is the most fascinating aspect of creation.

Clay and mosaic have been her mode of artistic expression for 30 years. Her inspirations come from nature, contemporary folk art and (currently) artists Niki de St. Phalle, Antoni Gaudi, Raymonde Isadore, Joan Miro and Mar Chagall among many others.

Holly received her degree in Visual Arts from the University of Northern Colorado, and she has travelled and studied in Italy, Spain, and France. She teaches ceramics and mosaic in varying capacities around Western North Carolina. She resides in Asheville with a cantankerous little dog named Chagall.

Artist Profile: Cynthia Lee

noreply@blogger.com (Echo Gallery) — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 17:24:00 +0000

Cynthia Lee has been working in ceramics for 30 years and is a self-taught ceramicist. Cynthia was director of Odyssey Center for Ceramic Arts for 5 years, is currently a full time ceramic artist with a studio at her home in Barnardsville, NC.

Her work is mainly decorative hand built items. Her curiosity in clay is coupled with the endless beauty of this world and strength of the human spirit. The ability of a plant to burst forth from a slab of concrete, continually changing to adapt and survive the harsh atmosphere of earth gives hope of endurance.

This love of nature, the cycle of growth, and the strength of all living things, ﬁnds its way into each piece, to create images inspired by patterns from the smallest wonders on this planet.

Cynthia is an instructor at the Odyssey Center for Ceramic Arts & oﬀers workshops annually at Wildacres Retreat.

Artist Profile: Angelique Tassistro

noreply@blogger.com (Echo Gallery) — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 16:49:00 +0000

Angelique Tassistro

As a child, Angelique’s mom used the word “imagination”; she said, “It’s the place you go, where all your dreams come true”. But what Angelique heard was “magic nation”, and that’s where she lives now, in her own “magic nation” where she makes art, works in her garden and plays with her dogs...a world where anything is possible.

Angelique uses clay to create very simple forms that she then embellishes with whimsical, raw, and colorful patterns and figures. There is a definite child-like quality, but not childish -- more like a tea party for adults. Each piece is supposed to be fun and a bit outrageous. She creates cake plates that she imagines to be filled with the most extravagant of desserts, casserole dishes to be the “guest serving piece” at a dinner party, and wine cups that beg to be held with two hands. Everything seems to come from a fantasy world, a place where she can break the rules of fashion, mixing pink with red dots and blue green stripes.

“I make art because I have to. It is my way of playing and, like a child, my play is my work. It is how I express myself. It is the language I understand. I love the process, the repetition, and the feeling of magic every time I open the kiln door. I get great pleasure from knowing others can enjoy my work. They can take it home with them and use it every day. By making pots, I get to share my “magic nation” in a way that words cannot explain.

Artist Profile: Celia Barbieri

noreply@blogger.com (Echo Gallery) — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 23:12:00 +0000

Celia Barbieri has always loved buttons. She can remember being a small child, content to just go through her grandma’s buttons for hours. Sorting them by color, shape, prettiness.

“I see buttons everywhere, from the designs in unicellular phytoplantkton to Buddhist prayer wheels. I am always searching for new designs and textures to incorporate into my little circular creations.”

Celia began her Button Flower journey by sending a small bouquet to her sister in her first year of college, and as she worked her way through high school and then college, button flowers continued to grow from a hobby to a dream profession of spreading flowers that can make people smile forever.

Artist Profile: Dona Barnett

noreply@blogger.com (Echo Gallery) — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 22:57:00 +0000

Why crows? The woods in my neighborhood seem to attract crow family groups and I get the effect of surround sound as they live their lives around me. I observe them behaving a little like we humans do, squabbling yet sticking together, fighting over food, sometimes patiently sharing, foolishly pursuing shiny objects in the face of danger. They represent for me human nature, fallen since the beginning of the world, awaiting redemption in Christ's return.

My recent oil painting work has taken a diversion into the synthesis of complex natural matrices with perceived order. I have chosen to exemplify this complexity visually in the image of nests. I have used nests for two reasons. They easily illustrate the intricate interweaving of events and all things in the world, physical as well as spiritual and for their reference to another human connection, that of home, an ending or beginning point. An empty nest may have both a negative and a positive connotation of either loss or hope.

Artist Profile: Judy Simmons

noreply@blogger.com (Echo Gallery) — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 22:45:00 +0000

Judy Simmons holds a degree in Home Economics, has always loved sewing and enjoys designing art quilts and wearables. Judy utilizes a wide range of surface design techniques which include her latest loves - deconstructive screen printing and digital imagery on fabric. Her quilts also include many machine embellishment techniques.

Judy has written 2 books and taught and lectured throughout the United States, Canada and Japan. Her quilts are in many private collections and her quilt “Nosegay” is part of the permanent collection of Museum of American Quilters.

Judy’s professional affiliation with the Southern Highland Craft Guild has afforded her the opportunity to meet many wonderful and talented artists. Judy has lived in Asheville for 7 years, loves the art community and every other aspect of this wonderful city.