Tryon – Two Asheville-based artists unveiled an engaging collection of recent work with the opening of Off The Wall, a new exhibition curated by the Upstairs Artspace contemporary gallery in Tryon.
The Off The Wall exhibit features the work of Suzanne Dittenber and Mark Flowers.
Artists and frequent Upstairs Artspace collaborators Margaret Curtis and Phil Garrett worked together to curate the exhibit. Curtis was familiar with the work of both Dittenber and Flowers and suggested the idea of a shared show.
Although the two artists work in different mediums, Curtis found enough similarities among their recent work for a cohesive art show.
“There’s a corresponding sense of depth and color choices between the two artists,” said Curtis. “I find they both have a sculptural quality that challenges more traditional ideas of painting.” The three-dimensional nature of the pieces was the inspiration for the exhibition title, Off The Wall.
Artist Mark Flowers included mixed-media pieces in the exhibit, with nearly a dozen large collages on display. He was inspired by traveling in and around Baltimore by train and captured cellphone photos of what he saw on his journeys.
“This work is typical of his style,” explained Curtis. “It has a strong graphic quality.”
Flowers’s urban-inspired work is complemented by Suzanne Dittenber’s agrarian sensibility in the body of work that she contributed to the exhibit. Off The Wall includes a collection of paintings made from pigmented pulp on paper to depict scenes from a local sheep farm.
She described the process of working with wet pigmented pulp on wet paper as similar to watercolor and noted it was a departure from her usual approach which focused heavily on the quality of the edges where different shapes and colors meet.
“It was more difficult to create sharp edges, so I learned to embrace the softness and allow things to become more abstract.” The soft nature of the medium lent itself well to Dittenber’s subject matter of sheep and wool.
Dittenber has painted outdoors surrounded by the landscape she recreates for much of her career; however, recent years have brought her inside a studio. Upon moving to Asheville, she was struck by the impact of sustainable agriculture in the region and was inspired to get back outside and become more familiar with local, small farms. Her first stop was Grassroots Farm and Dairy, where she spent a year observing the sheep and the shearing process. She captures the nuances of the relationship in her work.
“My work captures the humanity of agricultural oases, highlighting loving care for animals and the local creation of high-integrity food products,” Dittenber explained.
In addition to being a professional artist, Dittenber has taught at UNC Asheville for the past seven years. She traditionally works in oils but began experimenting with the solvent-free, pigmented paper pulp during a recent pregnancy.
“It was a fun nudge to try something new,” Dittenber said.
In addition to the Off The Wall exhibit, the Upstairs Artspace currently features the work of South Carolina-based artist Kevin Isgett. His collection of acrylic portraits titled Strangers harkens back to early American folk portraits while incorporating unexpected and exaggerated features.
Isgett begins his work without a finished design in mind and lets light and shadow lead his creative process.
“I’m searching for who it will be, trying to find someone that interests me,” said Isgett.
Both the Strangers and Off The Wall exhibits opened on January 20 with a reception and all three artists present.
Upstairs Artspace Board President Sandra Miller was pleased with the dozens of people who dropped by for the opening reception on one of the coldest days of the year.
“This is a great turnout for a very cold night,” said Miller. “It reflects the level of support for the arts within the community.”
The exhibits will continue at the Upstairs Artspace in downtown Tryon through March 15. Admission is free.
Upstairs Artspace is a non-profit gallery dedicated to two- and three-dimensional fine art and craft. After 45 years of operation, it is one of the oldest non-profit galleries focusing on contemporary art in the country. Additional information is available at www.upstairsartspace.org.