Last Updated on August 22, 2024 8:37 am
Boone, North Carolina – Appalachian State University continues to celebrate the dynamic roleof sculpture on campus with the unveiling of new installations for the Campus Arts Corridor inAugust 2024. This collection features seven sculptures created by artists across North Carolinaand New York, marking the second phase of this ongoing project. The sculptures start at theTurchin Center for the Visual Arts on King Street and extend along a public art pathway intocampus.
The Campus Arts Corridor connects the university's major arts venues, including the TurchinCenter for the Visual Arts and the Schaefer Center for the Performing Arts. These two hubs,along with the Valborg Theatre, Chapell Wilson Hall, Wey Hall, and the Broyhill Music Center,form a vibrant arts community on the campus. The Corridor builds on more than three decadesof outdoor sculpture programming at App State, reinforcing Boone's reputation as a culturaldestination.
Anchored by the Turchin Center located at the crossroads of Appalachian State University anddowntown Boone, the Campus Arts Corridor serves as a bridge between campus and town. Theiconic Transit Candy stair mural by Baltimore artists Jessie Unterhalter and Katey Truhn marksthe starting point of the Corridor.
This year’s featured sculptures resonate with themes of re-emergence, transformation, socialunity, and hopes for a more equitable world. These works not only enrich the campusenvironment but also engage visitors and the local community in the life of the university.
Exhibiting Artists:Jim Galluci (Greensboro, NC): “Golden Arch” – Located directly next to the Turchin Center, thearch, perfected by the Romans, captures a sense of time and space, symbolizing passage andwonder. This sculpture celebrates nature's magnificence by combining the arch's form with thesimplicity of a leaf.
Mary Anne Prack (Jefferson, NC): “Seeing Beyond” – This sculpture explores the architectureof the human figure and the joy of the human spirit through abstract forms. Each piece, uniquein its expression, reflects fascination with the essence of being human and the profounddifferences between us.
Vandorn Hinnant (East Grimesland, NC): “Raven”– “Raven” intertwines the symbolic magic ofravens with the geometric intrigue of Platonic Solids, representing transformation and the airelement. The sculpture's upper half echoes the bird's form, reflecting its mythologicalsignificance in human culture.
Robert Winkler (Asheville, NC): “Coming Around” – As a sculptor, the artist explores theinterplay between controlled and spontaneous, geometric and organic forms, using repetition tocreate a sense of movement. Their work engages viewers with its dynamic gestures and theillusion of lightness, changing as it interacts with light, shadow, and perspective.
Bill Brown (Linville Falls, NC): “Breakaway” – Bill’s work, featured in collections and exhibitionsacross North America, transforms life experiences into art through the exploration of steel'splasticity and the natural and spiritual world.
Sam Spickza (Apex, NC): “Nexus” – Inspired by the conflict between ideal symmetry andimperfect reality, Sam’s sculpture captures the tension between perfection and irregularity foundin natural forms. The work reflects both the chaos of growth and the underlying geometry of anideal state.
Jennifer Hecker (Brockport, NY): “Martyr Dress” – Jennifer’s work begins with a recognizableform, such as a strapless gown, which serves as an entryway into deeper artistic exploration.Using materials like lump charcoal, eggshells, and broken glass, the Martyr Dresses seriestransforms familiar symbols into metaphors for beauty, transience, and materialism, reflectingspiritual and conceptual ideas through physical matter.
These sculptures will be on display for two years. For more information, visitors can scan theQR code on the signage next to each sculpture, visit TCVA.org, or stop by the Turchin Centerfront desk for a sculpture guide.
About the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts:The Turchin Center for the Visual Arts, named for university benefactors Robert and LillianTurchin, is the largest visual arts facility in the region. The center offers dynamic exhibitions,educational programs, and serves as a vital cultural resource for the university and thecommunity. Located at 423 West King St. in Boone, the Turchin Center is open from 10am –6pm Tuesday – Thursday and Saturday, and 12-8pm on Fridays. Admission is free, thoughdonations are appreciated. For more information, visit TCVA.org or follow the Turchin Center onFacebook and Instagram @TurchinCenter.Sponsors:The Turchin Center thanks its media sponsors for their support: High Country 365, High CountryRadio, WFDD 88.5, WDAV 89.9, and WASU 90.5FM.
Bill Brown, Breakaway
Mary-Anne Prack, Seeing Beyond
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