I am so humbled that this painting sold at the annual Project Heart fundraiser on September 21, 2019 for $9,000, 100% of which I donated to the organization. It was my honor to dedicate it in memory of Everett Jones, and in honor of his parents Lee and Elizabeth Jones and his sister Althea. 

As I worked on this painting, I kept seeing a hummingbird and a heart, and I eventually gave up trying to make it NOT look like those things; then I quickly understood that this piece came into being so that it would be my donation this year for the auction. It was inspired by dreamy summertime days with melting popsicles, shimmering sunlight and shifting shadows, and dreamy music.

Read more about the important work being done by Project Heart here.

Fourteen of the city's most promising photographers and visual artists team up for an exciting new event:

7x7
Aug. 20, 7 p.m.
The King House

AUTHORS Laura Hutson Hunter

To hear Alex Berger tell it, the series of art events he calls 7x7 is the result of a puzzle he'd spent years trying to solve: how to get photographers — a creative but often solitary bunch — to collaborate with the same fervor as the actors and musicians he counted himself among in the past.

“Photographers tend to be thought of as lone wolves,” Alex says. “But I personally reject all of that. I've always found benefit in fellowship with other artists regardless of medium.”

In a nutshell, 7x7 is an event that randomly pairs seven photographers with seven subjects. At past events, Alex has paired photographers with fashion models, dancers, even skateboarders. With Alex's controlled but spontaneous collaboration, the results are unique each time.

That comparison to actors and musicians is one Alex comes by honestly — the London-born photographer studied at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York, and he's also recorded and toured as an independent singer-songwriter. But it's as a photographer that he's really found his tribe, and for the upcoming Nfocus event at The King House, he's extending it to include visual artists for the first time.

The idea for pairing photographers with visual artists came from a conversation Alex had with his friend Olasubomi Bashorun, an artist who will be participating at The King House event. “Ola told me about the collaborations that Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat made together,” Alex says. The two pop-art stars would often get together to trade artworks and let the other artist paint on top of their already completed work. “That was the spark that led to the formation of this particular event,” he says.

At the event, the 14 participants — seven photographers and seven painters — will meet and be paired up randomly. The duos will go out on their own, and in a set amount of time, the photographer will shoot the artist they're paired with. That photo shoot is the first collaboration, and Alex explains that it can be either a traditional portrait, an action shot, or anything the pair would like. Then, the photographer will upload and edit the pair's favorite photo, printing it right there on site. The print will go back to the artist, and then — just as with the Warhol-Basquiat model — the artist will do whatever they want to the photograph.

“They can paint on it, cut it up and put it in a jar — whatever,” Alex explains. They'll have a few hours to work, and once the time is up, the photographer will take a final photo of that piece of art. The end result is the real collaboration. Those images will be on display that very evening at The King House, and the original artworks will be auctioned off to benefit Together Rising. For more info, visit 7x7.productions. Keep reading to meet the seven photographers and seven painters participating in the event. 

7x7
Aug. 20, 7 p.m.
The King House

Meet the Photographers

Alex Berger
Daniel Meigs
Jessica Amerson
Sam Frawley
Jessica Steddom
Jake Matthews
Acacia Evans

Meet the Visual Artists

Tess Erlenborn
Wendy Walker Silverman
Ty Christian
Cassidy Cole
Olasubomi Bashorun
Delaney Royer
Shabazz Larkin

Art venue Galerie Tangerine, a Branch of Daigh Rick Landscape Architects, is excited to be hosting an exhibit of paintings by local artist Wendy Walker Silverman, entitled, An Opal Ring and the Stories That Scared Me, on display through August 9, 2019. An artist talk, including an unveiling of the tales behind the titles of Wendy’s work (+ libations AND live music!), will be held on Thursday, July 11 from 6:00 – 8:00 PM in the gallery. The artist’s work dives deep into the color, smells, sounds, shapes and tastes that are so tightly entwined in her dispensation of remembrance onto canvas.

An Opal Ring and the Stories That Scared Me features a wide array of mediums, dimensions, and nearly every color amongst the spectrum; however, despite their differences, they all maintain one common theme: they derive from a very specific and profound memory that have been imprinted as a result of the artist’s Louisiana upbringing. Wendy tells the tale behind the title of her solo show –

"The title of the show references my childhood: An opal ring was a treasured gift to me from my parents, and the beauty of that stone became a small world I would disappear into—an opalescent quality appears in many of the works in this exhibition, achieved through layers upon layers of thinly applied glazes. The stories that scared me were the ones I dwelt on the most. The fairy tales that featured ill-fated children; experiences with the supernatural and unexplained; the crimes and tragedies of regional and family lore; the Sunday tours in the old church cemetery with my friends to spin tales about and visit with the inhabitants of our favorite gravesites—all of these stories made an indelible impression on me, and appear like apparitions themselves in my work.

In this body of paintings, my very specific childhood memories are represented in their most distilled, ephemeral form, polished like rocks in a stream by my continued recollection of them. I am conveying to the viewer flashes of these memories through abstraction; my sensory experiences are represented through color, line, texture, and mark-making, leaving space for the observer to contemplate, recall their personal memories, or create their own narratives. Color, smells, sounds, shapes and tastes are so tightly interwoven in my processing of memory onto canvas, that I find myself thinking about tasting notes in wine or olfactory notes in perfumes as I paint...’This painting has top notes of live oak, humid bayous, Spanish moss, vinegary hot peppers and oak casks; middle notes of foggy apparitions, orange-oiled mahogany antiques and heart-pine floors; and surprisingly lingering bottom notes of crape Myrtle, alligator lurching out of opaque-with-algae water, and chain-link fence.’”

Wendy Walker Silverman’s vibrant and buoyant approach adds the element of a collected narrative to Galerie Tangerine’s creative offerings, which evoke fresh art and promise a delicious flavor of events and exhibitions. Together, the art and space will bring forth new conversations about how we become inspired and what it means to carry that glow within ourselves.

Galerie Tangerine, which is free and open weekdays from 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM, is located at 900 South Street, Suite 104.

GALERIE TANGERINE IS EXCITED TO HOST CANOPY - A POP UP EVENT + CREATIVE COLLABORATION FEATURING:

• TEXTILES + SELECTED WORKS ON PAPER BY WENDY WALKER SILVERMAN

• LIVE MUSIC FROM MICHAEL HIX

WHEN: THURSDAY, JUNE 13TH FROM 5:30 - 7:30 PM

WHERE: GALERIE TANGERINE (900 SOUTH STREET SUITE 104 NASHVILLE, TN 37203)

ABOUT WENDY WALKER SILVERMAN: 

YOU CAN SEE WENDY’S SOLO PAINTING SHOW “AN OPAL RING AND THE STORIES THAT SCARED ME” AT GALERIE TANGERINE THROUGH AUGUST 9. FOR CANOPY, SHE HAS BROUGHT TOGETHER SOME OF HER FAVORITE CREATIVE PEOPLE AND PRODUCTS, AND WILL ALSO FEATURE PRODUCTS FROM HER TEXTILE LINE AND SELECTED WORKS ON PAPER.

ABOUT MICHAEL HIX: 

MICHAEL HIX IS A COMPOSER AND MUSICIAN FROM TENNESSEE. HIS MUSIC INCORPORATES SYNTHESIZERS AND ELECTRONICS TO BUILD DYNAMIC STRUCTURES THAT EVOLVE OVER TIME, DELVING INTO THE HUMAN CONDITION AND THE METAPHYSICAL DIMENSION. HIS WORK DRAWS UPON CLASSICAL MINIMALISM, SACRED MUSIC, ANALOG TECHNO & HOUSE AS WELL AS POPULAR MUSIC. HE LIVES AND WORKS IN NASHVILLE. 

The third installation of SIREN, a recurring arts series curated by artist Wendy Walker Silverman and hosted at White Avenue Studio, will feature "Reverence," a never-before-exhibited body of work by prolific nature photographer Byron Jorjorian, the paintings of country soul singer/songwriter Andrew Combs, and paintings by Wendy. We are thrilled to share the work of of these artists with Nashville in a FREE public event. NECAT Network will be on site as the event beneficiary.

Fine art photographer Byron Jorjorian has been capturing the natural world for over 35 years. He is considered by many to be one of the nation’s premier fine art nature photographers. With over 475,000 images in his files, his photographs have appeared on nationally published greeting cards, magazines, posters, murals, fine art prints, books, brochures and advertising. Byron has had over 11,000 images published and has had over 22,000 fine art prints installed all over the United States and around the world, working closely with interior design and art consultant teams on a daily basis.

You may know Andrew Combs for his music, but his recent surreal and dream-like paintings caught the eye of Wendy as she was beginning to conceptualize SIREN 3, and Combs' work often parallels the themes in Jorjorian's "Reverence" portfolio. Andrew says, “I want to create for the rest of my life — writing, singing, painting. I also want my life to include a family, a house, and kids. Seeking out other artists who’ve been able to keep the lights on without compromising their art – that keeps me inspired.”

Wendy will also have selected pieces included in the exhibition which tie in thematically with the natural symbolism in the work exhibited of Jorjorian and Combs. Her work has been described as atmospheric, ethereal, and delicately dramatic.