The Arts Company Introduces Two New Artists To Tennessee

The Arts Company introduces two artists new to Nashville-- Sculptor Roger Halligan and Painter Jan Chenoweth. In their Nashville debut exhibitions. Hopeful Fragments, the artists, who also happen to be husband and wife, will showcase their abstract contemporary artwork. Halligan's sculptures are inspired by the mysterious presence of Stonehenge, the extraordinary large-scale rock sculptures found in the British Isles. Chenoweth's colorful abstract paintings symbolically represent the turbulent violence being experienced around the world today, and how her paintings make artistic sense of it. These two exhibits reflect The Arts Company's commitment to offering a series of new experiences to the gallery marketplace on 5th Avenue of the Arts in 2017.

Hopeful Fragments will open during First Saturday Art Crawl Downtown on February 4, 6PM-9PM;

continuing through February 24, during regular gallery hours, 11am-5pm, Tuesday-Saturday.

Jan Chenoweth, painter

"My Fragment series represents my visual and emotional response to upheavals, man-made and natural, that seem to be occurring around us at an alarming rate," states Painter Jan Chenoweth. "I see lives

turning upside down and then moving instinctively into survival mode. There is an energy found in the chaotic aftermath. Not an energy we respond to consciously, but one that keeps us going nonetheless."

Chenoweth's works are filtered through her experiences, beliefs and emotions. The paintings are abstracted views of bits of remaining color that she sees on the surface of rubble left by bombings, tornadoes, tsunamis and other disasters. They are also an acknowledgement of lives lost and lives finding their way to persevere in a changing world.

Roger Halligan, sculptor

"My sculpture is strongly influenced by the megalithic stone constructions found in Ireland, France and the British Isles," remarks Sculptor Roger Halligan. "I am drawn to these structures, such as Stonehenge and Avebury or New Grange, because they are some of the earliest indications of large scale sculpture and architecture, and because they continue to have a strong impact on the modern viewer." The stone seems to activate the space it occupies, reaching beyond its place, time and materials. In this exhibit, the art is made with steel and concrete - man-made materials found commonly in the contemporary world.

The interaction of sculpture and space, though, are similar to the before-mentioned iconic works in that they activate the sensual and physical environment; as well as invite the viewer to experience personal associations about them.

The Artists / Roger Halligan & Jan Chenoweth

Roger Halligan has been creating sculpture professionally since the mid-seventies. After graduating with an MFA with honors in Studio Arts from the University of Georgia in 1977, he moved to North Carolina where he was an exhibit designer for the North Carolina Zoological Park for 15 years. His art is in many public and private collections, including the Weatherspoon Museum, Greensboro, NC; the Maitland Museum in Maitland, FL; and the William King Museum, Abingdon, VA. The cities of Greensboro, Carrboro and Raleigh, NC and Chattanooga, TN also own his sculpture. He is in the collections of the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching, Cullowhee, NC; the Triad Regional Farmers Market in Colfax, NC., and the UNC- Asheville Kellogg Center in North Carolina.

For Jan Chenoweth, art has been a life-long pursuit enriched by her formative years in South Florida and her unquenched wanderlust. She was born in Miami Beach Florida in 1945 and after many stops along the way, now resides and works in Chattanooga, TN. Her BFA studies were primarily at the University of Illinois and Virginia Intermont College with a concentration in painting. She received her MFA in Studio Arts with a sculpture concentration from Florida State University.

The Gallery / The Arts Company, 5th Avenue of the Arts, First Saturday Art Crawl Downtown The Arts Company is a primary arts destination in Downtown Nashville-since 1996--representing artwork by artists from emerging to legendary, in photography, painting, and sculpture. Presenting 12 exhibitions each year; collaboration with other galleries statewide; partnering with 5th Avenue of the Arts District to produce the First Saturday Art Crawl Downtown; and specializing in full-service artistic resources for businesses and individuals.

First Saturday Art Crawl Downtown, presented by 5th Avenue of the Arts, is a monthly visual arts event in downtown Nashville. On every First Saturday, an alliance of art galleries and museums collectively invite the public to explore the vibrant Nashville downtown art scene. Admission free, the event welcomes approximately 2,000 attendees each month, bringing more attention and recognition to this energetic destination for visual arts.