1) Robert Tynes Painting Exhibit on Display at Lees-McRae College
On Friday, March 21, Lees-McRae will host an opening reception for artist Robert Tynes whose exhibit of contemporary Trompe L’Oeil paintings will be on display from March 14 through April 11 in the King-Shivell Gallery at the College. This exhibit is free and open to the public. “Robert Tynes is an extreme professional when it comes to teaching and fine art,” said Jason Sabbides, assistant professor of Communication Arts and Design and King-Shivell Gallery Manager. “His work is a cultivation of years of laborious work. He has perfected a technique called Trompe L’Oeil, which means to fool the eye. This group of work is an outstanding opportunity to view what great skills can be achieved through unwavering passion and dedication.” A Chicago native, Tynes has held more than 25 solo exhibitions of his work in galleries such as The Contemporary Museum in Honolulu, Hawaii, the Roswell Museum of Art in North Carolina and Blue Spiral 1 in Asheville. He has also participated in more than one hundred and fifty group shows across the country. Some of the most significant of these were exhibitions held in the Columbus Museum of Art (Ohio), Lillian Heidenberg Gallery (New York), and the H & W Bechtler Gallery (Charlotte, NC). The latter exhibition, titled “Doubletake,” included works by Larry Bell, Gregory Gillespie, Duane Hanson, Marilyn Levine, Paul Sarkisian and Richard Shaw. “My paintings combine abstract brush marks with trompe l’oeil illusionism,” said Tynes in his artist statement. “The juxtaposition of these seemingly opposite ways of working results in a dialectic approach to painting. The visual tension that exists in the work reflects the dualities and paradoxical nature of the world as I see it… Through the use of illusion, the work conveys both a sense of mystery and humor, and reflects my longtime interests in Surrealism and the psychology of perception.” Tynes has also completed several large-scale commissions for The Doubletree Hotel in Kansas City, IBM Corporation’s Field Engineering Headquarters in Atlanta, and the city of Charlotte’s Convention Center. After serving as director of the S. Tucker Cooke Gallery at UNC Asheville for over twenty years, Tynes continues to teach full time as Professor of Art in Painting and Drawing. He has also taught at the University of Hawaii, Humboldt State University in California, and East Carolina University. For more information about King-Shivell Gallery, please contact Jason Sabbides at sabbidesj@lmc.edu.
2) Smith Gallery at ASU Presents Ivan Toth Depena
The Smith Gallery at Appalachian State University presents an artist and designer lecture by Ivan Toth Depeña. The lecture will be held on March 18, 2014 at 6:30pm in the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts Lecture Hall. This event is free and open to the public. Depeña will be discussing his interdisciplinary practice and how he creates, invents and designs for a variety of applications ranging from public art to print to motion graphics. Ivan Toth Depeña, is the founder of Airboat, a multidisciplinary design studio that bridges the divide between the fields of art, design and technology. His work is informed by his experiences in art, architecture, technology and design. Combining many sources of media, form and materials, he investigates the intersection between different disciplines. His studio output includes and often fuses together painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, public art, and installation. His projects incorporate hands-on methodology combined with high tech output and fabrication. Depeña’s work exemplifies the harmonic moment when various creative branches come together seamlessly. Depeña is also an artist in residence at the McColl Center for the Visual Art in Charlotte, NC and will visit Boone to meet with art students and present a lecture on his work and his work at Airboat. He leads the team at Airboat, a small, diverse and mobile unit of individuals poised to handle projects of varying scale, whose unique project teams are based on the needs of the design problem to be solved. Participation on any given project ranges from designers, architects, programmers, engineers and craftsmen to painters, photographers, sculptors and illustrators. Airboat’s all encompassing practice tackles a wide variety of art and design problems ranging from graphic and architectural design to installations.
3) Spring Positive Discipline Class
Want to enrich your relationship with your children this Spring, as well as learn tools that will help you enjoy being with them more? In this 5-week positive discipline parenting group you will learn to understand why children misbehave and you will learn specific, non-punitive methods to help solve these problems. You will also learn how to help your children develop self-discipline, responsibility, problem-solving skills and self-esteem. And you will receive support from other parents who “know what you are talking about.” Meetings are Wednesdays from 6-8 p.m. in room 168 at the Institute for Health and Human Services at University Hall. Group starts on March 19 and runs until April 16. The group is free and is open to ASU staff, faculty and their families and is also open to the general public. Childcare may be available. Please email Julie Neal at nealjr@appstate.edu to register and to inquire about childcare. Julie Reed Neal, Counseling for Faculty and Staff (ASU) and Mary Willis of Mary’s Montessori School will facilitate these groups. Ms. Willis and Ms. Neal are both Certified Positive Discipline Parent Educators.