Contemporary Culture Makers art exhibit honors regional artists

The Reece Museum is currently housing the Contemporary Culture Makers exhibition from Jan. 11 to March 12. The exhibition was curated by local artist Jocelyn Mathewes.

“I really enjoy collecting people; I enjoy all kinds of art and the way its expressed in communities,” Mathewes said.

The Contemporary Culture Makers exhibition includes 10 regional artists, all from the northeast Tennessee and Virginia area. The exhibit focuses on the local culture as seen from the eyes of local artists. The pieces included reflect on recent events with the oldest work being from 2018.

“The pandemic threw the Reece museum for a big loop, we lost a lost of our exhibitions and many were postponed,” said Spenser Brenner, Reece Museum exhibition coordinator. “We wanted to celebrate local artists, so we wanted to invite a local curator, and we immediately thought of Jocelyn Mathewes.”

The artists curated by Mathews includes Laken Bridges, Eric Drummond-Smith, Ruby Falls, Jay Flack, Richard Graves, Tony Henson, Cozmo Luna, Mary Nees, Annamarie Williams and Stacie Williams. The exhibition contains many forms of art, including paintings, prints and sculptures, all commenting on the culture of the region.

“I was looking for artists who are known, some that are fan favorites, but not necessarily exhibited, and whose work was talking to each other and sort of seemed like they were talking to each other in some sort of way.” Mathewes said. “People who are taking a more loose approach, people who are very DIY, or self taught.”

Each piece in the exhibit represents a certain part of the culture as seen from the artist’s point of view. While many similar threads are seen throughout the exhibit, each artist has put their own spin on these cultural elements, creating an exhibit that is cohesive but still unique.

“We’ll be walking around, checking the work out,” Brenner said. “Any artist that can be available, we’ve invited to be apart of the event, and the public would be able to ask questions in the chat box. Three artists have already confirmed they’ll be there to answer any questions.”

The Reece Museum, while open to the public, still acknowledges COVID-19 guidelines and will be offering a Virtual Live Opening and Artist Talk that will be held on Zoom at 5 p.m. on Jan. 21.

The view the Virtual Opening and Artist Talk, use this link: https://etsu.zoom.us/j/93801205891