August 2011

Alamance County Arts Council in Graham, NC, Features Works by J. Seward Johnson

The Alamance County Arts Council in Graham, NC, will present the exhibit, Beyond the Frame: Impressionism Revisited, featuring sculptural works by J. Seward Johnson, on view at the Captain James and Emma Holt White House, from Aug. 1 through Oct. 31, 2011.

With assistance from the Arts Council’s Wooten Family Fund and our Presenting Partner, Proponent Federal Credit Union, we have contracted with internationally renowned American sculptor J. Seward Johnson to bring pieces of Johnson’s acclaimed exhibition, Beyond the Frame, to Alamance County.

Johnson is best known for his life size and lifelike bronze sculptures of everyday people that inhabit parks and other public spaces around the country and around the world. In this current exhibition, Johnson turns his hand to recreate famous Impressionist paintings in three dimensions.

In Beyond the Frame: Impressionism Revisited, Johnson presents 12 life-sized works, previously known only as paintings. He invites visitors to walk into sculptures inspired by masterpieces from the French Impressionist era, allowing us to explore these icons of art history and encouraging us to take a closer look. By making his work humorous, touchable and accessible, Johnson opens up new ways of seeing familiar paintings and does much to bridge the chasm between art and the public.

Ten of the works will be exhibited in the galleries and garden of the Arts Council’s Captain James and Emma Holt White House, available to view, touch, photograph and study. Two of the works will be presented at Proponent’s new Forestdale Drive location in Burlington, NC. Admission will be free to the public at both locations.

“We are thrilled and excited to bring this exhibit to the citizens of Alamance County and look forward to sharing it with all sectors of the community,” states Janet Andrews, Wooten Family Fund Coordinator. “Through educational programming and outreach, many groups from the community will be invited to explore and interact with the art, including special experiences that we will plan for the visually impaired, disabled, elderly and children. Additionally, the exhibit will include an information room that will educate and enlighten visitors about the process of bronze casting from concept to finished work. This exhibition offers a wealth of opportunities for the Arts Council to expand and develop exciting cultural and educational experiences for the entire family. I anticipate that Beyond the Frame will be the most visited art event ever to be presented in our county.”

Beyond the Frame: Impressionism Revisited was organized and first exhibited by the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. It broke all attendance records for the museum. Johnson has had more than 250 of his life-size cast bronze figures featured in private collections and museums in the United States, Canada, Asia and Europe, as well as prominent public art placements in Rockefeller Center and Liberty Plaza in New York City and permanent installations in Hong Kong, Paris and Rome. His sculptures have been highlighted in Architectural Digest, The New Yorker, The New York Times, the Boston Globe and Life Magazine.

For further information check our NC Institutional Gallery listings, call the Arts Council at 336/226-4495 or visit (www.artsalamance.com).

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