January 2014

Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center in Asheville, NC, Features Works by Cynthia Homire

The Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center in Asheville, NC, will present Cynthia Homire: Vision Quest, on view from Jan. 24 through May 17, 2014. A reception will be held on Jan. 24, from 5:30-7:30. The artist will be present at the opening, and a new publication of her poems and drawings will be available to purchase.

The exhibition will focus on the work of poet, potter and visual artist Cynthia Homire, a Black Mountain College alumna, now in her early 80s, who has worked in a variety of media over the course of her prolific career. Homire was a student at Black Mountain College from 1950-1954, where she studied with Charles Olson, Robert Creeley, and M. C. Richards, among many others. Homire describes this seminal experience with her typical humor and grace.

Homire stated, “Yes, I have rubbed shoulders with the pantheon, a few bellies, too. Washed the floor Merce Cunningham danced on, then went leaping through his class. Jitterbugged with Rauschenberg… Shared steak with William Carlos Williams… Breakfast with Brautigan. All these things happen if you are there for them.”

In addition to finding inspiration and room for experimentation at BMC, Homire also found her life partner there, fellow student and painter Jorge Fick (the last student to graduate from BMC). Homire and Fick opened the Fickery on Canyon Road in Santa Fe in 1972, where they made and sold stoneware for over ten years. In 1990, Homire was diagnosed with macular degeneration, inspiring a shift in her work from pottery to poetry. In 2008, she illustrated and self-published a collection of her poems, entitled Insights & Outbursts. Now in her eighties, Homire is beginning to paint, even though her vision is impaired.

The exhibition at BMCM+AC will honor Homire’s lifelong commitment to making art and share her imaginative, experimental spirit with visitors to the museum. The show will feature a selection of drawings, paintings, pottery and writings by Homire, spanning from her time at Black Mountain College to her present life in Taos, NM. We will produce a 48-page publication for the show, featuring reproductions of some of her drawings and a selection of Homire’s poetry.

The Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center preserves and continues the unique legacy of educational and artistic innovation of Black Mountain College for public study and enjoyment. We achieve our mission through collection, conservation, and educational activities including exhibitions, publications, and public programs.

For further information check our NC Institutional Gallery listings, call the Museum at 828/350-8484 or visit (www.blackmountaincollege.org).

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