The Evelyn Burrow Museum welcomes sculptors to “Rendezvous” exhibition

HANCEVILLE, Ala. — The work of more than dozen artists — including that of world-renowned sculptor Frank Fleming — will be joined together soon at The Evelyn Burrow Museum in an exhibit fittingly called “Rendezvous.” The 2016 Burrow Sculptors Invitational is the third installment of the annual summer event that shines a spotlight on the work of some of the most celebrated artists in the United States.
The exhibit will run from Tuesday, August 2 through Friday, October 30 at The Evelyn Burrow Museum located on the campus of Wallace State Community College.
“I’m really excited about the exhibition this year,” said Donny Wilson, director of The Evelyn Burrow Museum. “The artists who have been invited to show their work are some of the best in the United States, in my opinion. I’ve been really impressed with the quality of the work we’ll have on display.”
The seven original members of the Burrow Sculptors Invitational committee chose the artists whose work will be shown, each choosing an artist they felt displayed exceptional talent within their chosen medium. New work from the committee members will also be displayed during the exhibition.
The artists featured in the exhibition include: Everett Cox, Glenn Dasher, Casey Downing, Jr., Frank Fleming, Stacey M. Holloway, Bruce Larsen, Ted Metz, Brad Morton, NovOntos, Duane Paxson, Robin Snyder, Kara Warren, Rachel Wright and Jason Tanner Young.
Everett Cox, a committee member, has a studio at Lowe Mill in Huntsville where he sculpts, molds and casts his bronze sculptures. He is a graduate of Auburn University, where he earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts and from the University of Georgia, where he earned his Master in Fine Arts.
Glenn Dasher, a committee member, is a professor of sculpture at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. He describes his sculptures as “surreal, playful or iconoclastic ‘moments,” which represent ‘pseudo-historical’ statuary fragments within improbable conceptual contexts.”
Casey Downing, Jr., a committee member, is a Mobile artist whose work includes life-size bronze sculptures of boxing legend Joe Lewis and a collection of sculptures of Alabama Chief Justices as well as abstract sculptures in public and private collections all over the United States and beyond.
Birmingham-based artist Frank Fleming grew up in Bear Creek, Ala., and at first majored in biology at what was then Florence State College (now the University of North Alabama) before discovering his artistic talent and changing his major to art. He worked as a technical illustrator for Boeing/NASA before earning his Master of Fine Arts from the University of Alabama. He taught in elementary art programs and at UAB before opening his own studio. His work is displayed all over the world. One of his most recognizable pieces is the Storyteller fountain at Five Points South in Birmingham.
Stacey M. Holloway is an assistant professor of sculpture at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Herron School of Art and Design/IUPUI and her Master of Fine Arts from the University of Minnesota. Her work has been exhibited throughout the Midwest, South and East Coast and she’s earned multiple awards for her work. “I use studies of animal behavior, the landscape, and architectural drafting as mechanisms for metaphors of uncertainty and longing, and through my sculpture build narratives situated at the point between possible success and potential failure.”
Bruce Larsen, of Fairhope, is a fine arts sculpture and special effects artist who combines his passion for recycling with his extensive experience of creating animatronic animals and creatures for Hollywood films. Larsen says his mixed media sculptures can include ancient farm equipment, driftwood, old wrenches and more, “assembled in a style that is both modern and classical, while making the powerful statement that recycling can be beautiful.”
 
Ted Metz, a committee member, is a professor of art at the University of Montevallo. A native of Ohio, Metz earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va., and his Master of Fine Arts from the University of South Carolina. His work has been shown all over the world and he’s received multiple awards for his educational and artistic endeavors.
Brad Morton, of Birmingham, studied Industrial Design at Auburn University before majoring in art and earning his Bachelor of Arts from UAB and his Master of Fine Arts from the University of Georgia. His preferred materials are bronze, cor-ten steel and stainless steel, and his approach to his work is rooted in the idea of “truth to materials.” His work has been shown in galleries and is public and private collections all over the United States.
NovOntos is an artist and design engineer from Cullman, whose work includes abstract graphic designs, architectural plans and models, ceramic sculptures and more. An Alabama native, NovOntos holds undergraduate degrees in Philosophy and Civil Engineering from Alabama A&M, Architecture from Auburn University, and undergraduate and graduate degrees in Sculpture from Yale. He has taught in the Architecture Department of Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY, and at several colleges in Alabama, and spent much of his professional life with a number of Architectural and Engineering firms in Alabama.
Duane Paxson, a native of Troy, Ala., works from a studio in Comer, Ga., creating his pieces that reveal an assessment of the human condition. For this exhibit, Paxson will show two pieces from this Ivory Tower series. “The overarching framework of the Ivory Tower series is that of a chess game,” Paxson says. “Individual sculptures are patterned after figures of a chess set. Just as the chess pieces operate in the game, so do the figures play out their roles in society.”
Robin Snyder, a committee member, is an associate professor and gallery director at Samford University’s School of the Arts. She earned her degrees from the University of South Alabama and Florida State University, and has taught art at all levels, kindergarten through college. Her artwork is based on themes that interest her and are reflections of her life experiences. The pieces she will show at the Burrow Museum are from her Life and Death series.
Kara Warren is the Preventive Conservation Specialist at the Biltmore House in Asheville, N.C., and is a graduate of the University of Alabama, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art. The works she’s chosen to display at The Evelyn Burrow Museum are pieces form an ongoing series she began while pregnant with her first child. “During my pregnancy, I was struck by the intimacy of carrying another being in my body, while simultaneously feeling a connectivity that expanded beyond that of mother to a child,” she said. “I continue to be transformed by the elusive and mystical nature of motherhood, and how it informs my life. With these pieces, I express these concepts by using materials and forms that represent the permanent, the mystical and the ephemeral nature of relationships.”
Rachel Wright, a committee member, is an instructor at the University of South Alabama. She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and her Master of Fine Arts from Southern Illinois University. She has worked with many different media throughout her career, but has concentrated mostly with glass in recent years. Her pieces for the Rendezvous exhibit come from an intense study of giant silk moths. “Part of my fascination with these creatures is because of the rapid and dramatic transformation they go through,” she said. “There is something sublime in their brief, ephemeral existence that makes me more aware of the transitory nature of life.”
Jason Tanner Young is an instructor at Ohio University. He earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Texas at Tyler and his Master of Fine Arts from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He sees sculptures as stories told by the artist. “These objects operate as markers,” he said. “They tell a loose story, but function more as a description of an environment, an attitude or perception. They mark a certain place in time, a feeling.”
Admission to The Evelyn Burrow Museum is free. The museum is regularly open Tuesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information about the museum or its exhibits, call 256.352.8457 or visit www.burrowmuseum.org.