Tawny Chatmon, Halide Salam to Discuss Exhibits at Art at Happy Hour

Tawny Chatmon, THREE (Gold)

Enjoy a free self-guided tour of Piedmont Arts' current exhibits during Art at Happy Hour on Thursday, February 27, 2020 from 5 – 7 pm at the museum. Exhibiting artists Tawny Chatmon and Halide Salam will be available to discuss the work in their respective exhibits, Fragile, Handle with Care and TransLight/TransPlace.

Fragile, Handle with Care features portraits by Chatmon that capture the beauty, innocence and hope of black childhood. Chatmon is devoted to creating portraits that are loosely inspired by works painted spanning from the 15th to 20th centuries, with the specific intent of bringing to the forefront faces that were often under-celebrated in this style of work. Her works almost always begin as photographs she has taken of someone close to her. She then alters her photos in diverse ways, creating a depth of layers. She chooses to frame her work in gold vintage, antique and baroque frames that she collects from estate sales, galleries, auctions and private sellers. These frames were constructed during (or are reminiscent of) an era in which framing subjects such as her’s wasn’t a consideration. Recently, Chatmon discovered a common theme amongst the sellers of these frames. Something that is often expressed is their concern over the fragility and the importance of the frames. Retrospectively, she realized that the sellers' concern over the fragility of these previously loved frames, was her wish for the subjects she was placing inside of them.

TransLight/TransPlace features large-scale abstract paintings by Salam, a professor of art at Radford University. Like a shaman, Salam dances on surfaces to open passages into the undiscovered world within, and to make meaning of the world without. Her paintings are neither visions nor memories. She paints in silence with no preconceptions, drawings or ideas, relying on what she knows and feels about the natural world and her place in it. Salam moves the paint, through unspoken words as tones, lines and hues, connecting images that arise through a sense of unison within patterns and structures that evolve and emerge through the process of call and response. It is a rhythmic dance on the canvas that opens up various forms of consciousness making visible the invisible, finding harmony through a passage of consciousness.

Windows of the Soul, featuring work by Loretta Joy Crossman, will be on display in the Lynwood Artists Gallery.

Art at Happy Hour is free and open to the public. Complimentary refreshments provided by the Piedmont Arts Guild. Guests may RSVP attendance by calling 276.632.3221 or online at PiedmontArts.org.

Exhibits will be on display through March 7, 2020. Exhibit admission is always free.