Battle post-holiday blues at these metro Atlanta exhibits
Black cowboys, Burkina Faso masks among great choices
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Got the post-holiday blahs? Shake the confetti from your cerebellum with a day at the galleries. A few suggestions:
Pulse rate pumper: The fierce paintings and strange beasts in Cuban artist Tomas Esson’s first American retrospective at Hammonds House Gallery.
Booth Western Art Museum
At the Booth Western Art Museum in Cartersville you’ll find the exhibit “The Black West: Buffalo Soldiers, Black Cowboys and Untold Stories.” It Showcases the work of 16 contemporary African-American artists.
File photo
Mary Engel’s artful ceramic animals, encrusted with all manner of doodads, are at the Marcia Wood Gallery. This one is called “Memory Dog Emily.”
Vino Wong/vwong@ajc.com
The exhibit “The First Emperor: China’s Terracotta Army” at the High Museum includes 15 life-size figures constructed with terracotta.
Family friendly: Mary Engel’s artful ceramic animals, encrusted with all manner of doodads, at Marcia Wood Gallery.
Go global: The vendors of Mumbai’s teeming streets in large brilliant photos of “Mushrooms Without Umbrellas” by Gauri Misra-Deshpande and Nikhil J. Deshpande at SCAD’s Trois Gallery.
Folk art feast: A rare assemblage of Savannah barber Ulysses Davis’ distinctive wood carvings and a sampling of works on paper by such artists as Eddie Arnung, Minnie Evans and George Lowe.
ACA Gallery of the Savannah College of Art and Design. Stephen Antonakos. “Darkness and Light.” A show of drawings and models built around installations of neon light. Through Feb. 15. Call for hours. 1280 Peachtree St. N.E., Atlanta. 404-815-2931, www.acagallery.org.
Atlanta Contemporary Art Center. “Mergers and Acquisitions.” A group show that combines work from modern masters with responsive work from contemporary artists and architects. Through Jan. 25; 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays; 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Thursdays; noon-5 p.m. Sundays. $5; $3 senior citizens and children. 535 Means St., Atlanta. 404-688-1970, www.thecontemporary.org.
Barbara Archer Gallery. “Sins and Virtues: Benjamin Jones.” A new series of drawings delivers a contemporary look at sins and virtues. Through Jan. 7. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Jan. 2; 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Jan. 3. 280 Elizabeth St., Suite A012, Atlanta. 404-523-1845, www.barbaraarcher.com.
Booth Western Art Museum. “Abandoned Beauty: Trucks of Enchantment, Photographs by Barbara Bowles.” Based in Santa Fe, N.M., Bowles has traveled the Southwestern United States discovering unique subjects for her photography, including junkyards. Through March 1. Also, “The Black West: Buffalo Soldiers, Black Cowboys and Untold Stories.” Showcasing the work of 16 contemporary African-American artists, this exhibition will shed new light on the important role African-Americans played in developing the West. Through March 22. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays -Wednesdays and Fridays and Saturdays. 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Thursdays. 1-5 p.m. Sundays. $8; $6 ages 65 and older; $5 students; ages 12 and younger and active military free. 501 Museum Drive, Cartersville. 770-387-1300, www.boothmuseum.org.
Emory University Visual Arts Building and Gallery. Min Kim Park. Park’s show titled “Zummarella” combines performance, video, photography, sound and site installation to explore the notion of the ideal woman in contemporary society. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Mondays-Fridays; noon-4 p.m. Saturdays. Jan. 5-24; closed Jan. 19. 700 Peavine Creek Drive, Atlanta. 404-727-6315, www .visualarts.emory.edu.
Hammonds House Museum. “Tomas Esson: El Bicho.” A retrospective show of work produced by Cuban artist Esson who came of age in Cuba’s post-revolutionary society. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays; 1-5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Through Jan. 18. $4; $2 senior citizens, students and children. 503 Peeples St. S.W., Atlanta. 404-612-0500, www.hammondshouse.org.
High Museum of Art. “The First Emperor: China’s Terracotta Army.” Examples of some of the thousands of items discovered since 1974. Among them are 15 life-size figures of warriors, horses and officials constructed with terracotta. Also, “The Louvre and the Masterpiece.” Ninety-one works of art that explore the concept of “masterpiece” span 4,000 years. Includes works by Vermeer, Pisanello and Barye. Also, “Medieval and Renaissance Treasures From the Victoria and Albert Museum,” “The Treasure of Ulysses Davis” and “Yacouba Bonde: Bwa Masks of Burkina Faso.” 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays-Wednesdays and Friday-Saturdays; 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Thursdays; noon-5 p.m. Sundays. $18; $15 senior citizens and college students with ID; $11 ages 6-17; ages 5 and younger free. 1280 Peachtree St. N.E., Atlanta. 404-733-4444, www.high.org.
