March 2011

Flood Gallery Fine Arts Center in Asheville, NC, Features Works by Heinz Kossler

The Flood Gallery Fine Arts Center in Asheville, NC, will present the exhibit, One Billion Seconds, featuring the best works of German-born artist, Heinz Kossler, from the past 32 years. The exhibition will open in the Flood Gallery as well as the Pump Gallery in the Phil Mechanic Studios Building on Mar. 3 and continue through Mar. 31, 2012. A reception will be held on Mar. 3, from 6-9pm.

Kossler arrived from Witten Germany in 1980 and in 1990 rented studio space in what years later would become known as the River Arts District. “The area was primarily vacant industrial buildings when I arrived”, says Kossler. “The space I rented had most-recently been a small after-hours tavern for local workers. It smelled like beer, cigarettes and hard work.”

Kossler rapidly became well known for his architectural ceramics, which are used as decorative surrounds for fireplaces and upscale kitchens. Today these masterful architectural installations grace some of Asheville’s finest homes. Because of the striking beauty as well as the durability of Kossler’s ceramics as architectural elements, he went on to accept commissions to create massive outdoor installations, used primarily as gateway signs for both housing developments as well as entry features to cities, such as Gatlinburg.

Less well-known are Kossler’s elaborately crafted and often humorous works of ceramic fine art, which will be the focus of the upcoming exhibition. “Obviously, I cannot ask someone to give up their fireplace for a month”, muses the artist.

Kossler often uses word-play in his fine art pieces. An example of Kossler’s playful works is five enormous ceramic letters, each letter weighing close to 90 pounds and standing 20 inches tall, which spell the word THINK.

“The exhibition will give everyone plenty to think about”, says Jolene Mechanic, the Executive Director of the gallery. She points to a Kossler that is part of her private collection, which reads ANOTHER NANOSECOND OF BLISS and says “Now we have One billion seconds of bliss, all under one roof”.

The Flood Gallery and its sister, the Pump Gallery are both located in the River Arts District of Asheville.

For further information check our NC Institutional Gallery listings, call the center at 828/255-0066 or visit (www.philmechanicstudios.com).

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