Center for Craft 25th anniversary logo in red

Current Exhibition

UPcoming Exhibition

past Exhibition

On View 

Mirror/Mentor

The Center for Craft is excited to present a solo exhibition of patchwork textiles and inflatable sculptures by the Ohio-based fiber artist. Adrian’s volumetric, pneumatic work transports viewers into artifice, desire, and worldbuilding. Drawing from rich legacies of queer fiber art & theory, the exhibition features monumentally scaled works that physically respond to viewers presence by filling with air.

You can still sponsor RIPSTOP by contributing before July 12, 2024. Donate today for your opportunity to be recognized during the opening reception on August 15, 2024, and on the exhibition's Title Wall. To underwrite this exhibition, please donate now.

Mirror/Mentor

SPONSOR

On view

Jan

20

Mar

12

Through

Jan

20

Mar

12

When

Jan 20, 2021

Mar 12, 2021

line drawn illustration in all gold of four portraits, all connected through the same line, over white.

Photo credit:

Lara Nguyen, Connective Contours (Lara, Steven, Sather, Jess), Digital illustration. Image courtesy of the artist.

Current Exhibition

UPcoming Exhibition

past Exhibition

On View 

Mirror/Mentor

On view

Jan

20

Mar

12

Through

Jan

20

Mar

12

When

Jan 20, 2021

Mar 12, 2021

line drawn illustration in all gold of four portraits, all connected through the same line, over white.

Photo credit:

Lara Nguyen, Connective Contours (Lara, Steven, Sather, Jess), Digital illustration. Image courtesy of the artist.

Current Exhibition

UPcoming Exhibition

past Exhibition

On View 

Mirror/Mentor

On view

Jan

20

Mar

12

Through

Jan

20

Mar

12

When

Jan 20, 2021

Mar 12, 2021

line drawn illustration in all gold of four portraits, all connected through the same line, over white.

Photo credit:

Lara Nguyen, Connective Contours (Lara, Steven, Sather, Jess), Digital illustration. Image courtesy of the artist.

FRONT & CENTER

Front & center

Mirror/Mentor brings together work by Warren Wilson College Art professor Lara Nguyen and three of her former students, Steven Horton Jr. (class of 2017),  Sather Robinson-Waters (class of 2018), and Jess Self (class of 2014).

The diversity of media, styles, and themes in the art on view reflects Lara’s philosophy of teaching and mentoring. For Lara, the idea of being a mentor who is a mirror does not mean producing students whose work mimics her own. Instead she follows the advice of her mother, who told her to set an example for her four younger siblings--mirror for them how to live fully in this world. As she worked, and sometimes struggled, to integrate the different layers of her own very full life, Lara discovered her students were as curious about this art of living as they were about learning artistic techniques and handling different media.

The terms of Lara’s life changed when she was diagnosed with uterine leiomyosarcoma cancer (uLMS) in 2018. Her works in this exhibition hold up a mirror to teach us her new reality: stage 4 cancer, incurable and terminal. The photo series Un-Broken pictures the scars from her own surgeries and the healed wounds of family and friends embellished in gold as a means of adornment and repair in the vein of the Japanese art of kintsugi. In Brushes with Death, the artist creates new tools from her own hair lost due to chemotherapy. The mixed media sculpture Forbidden Grapefruit is a new iteration of a poem written about her mother’s journey, which became a series of performances and installations. 

The body as vessel, trauma, a daily artistic practice, making as a means of social justice, and repurposing and repairing with the hopes of reemergence are among the overlapping themes that connect the works of these four artists--teacher and students.

How To View

Virtual Tour

Thursday, February 11, 2021, 6-7 pm EST

Online visitors can register to attend a virtual tour of this exhibition featuring Curator Julie Caro in conversation with Exhibiting Artist Lara Nguyen. This is a free event. A $5-10 donation at time of registration is recommended.

REGISTER NOW→

In-Person

The Center is offering free, unguided visits and affordable tours of its exhibitions to the public. Guests can reserve a 30-minute visit to explore the current exhibitions, learn more about the Center’s national impact in their Craft Research Fund Study Collection, and enjoy interactive activities. The Center is open to the public Tuesday-Friday, 11 am - 5 pm. Hours of operation may be subject to change.

Center for Craft is monitoring the effects of COVID-19 on the community and following the instruction of federal, state, and local health departments. Our top priority is always the health and safety of our staff, coworkers, and visitors. At this time, the Center can only allow a maximum of five guests in its public space at once and will require the use of masks or face coverings by all visitors, including children. The Center reserves the right to refuse entry to any visitor that will not comply.

REGISTER NOW→

Artist Roundtable

Monday, March 8, 2021,  6-7 pm EST

Join Mirror/Mentor Curator Julie Caro in conversation with exhibiting artists Lara Nguyen, Steven Horton, Jr., Sather Robinson-Waters, and Jess Self. This is a free event.

REGISTER NOW→

SUPPORT

No items found.
No items found.

OPENING RECEPTION

,

,

Where

Center for Craft, John Cram Partner Gallery

67 Broadway St., Asheville NC 28801

ARTISTS

Lara Nguyen

Steven Horton, Jr.

Sather Robinson-Waters

Jess Self

CURATed By

Curated by Julie Levin Caro, Ph.D., Professor of Art History, Warren Wilson College.

ORGANIZED BY

Warren Wilson College

Exhibition management BY

Installation by

Exhibition design

Edited by

Graphic Design by

Photography by

exhibition events

The events for this exhibition have passed. See our full calendar for upcoming events.

Meet the artists

ᏚᏍᏓᏯᎫᎾᏱ Gabriel Crow

Cherokee, NC

Faye Junaluska

Cherokee, NC

Lucille Lossiah

Ramon Lose

Cullowhee, NC

ᏯᏗ ᎺᏂ Betty Maney

Cherokee, NC

ᏗᎳᏂ Dylan Morgan

Cherokee, NC

ᎺᎵ ᏔᎻᏏᏂ Mary W. Thompson

ᏎᎳᏂ ᏔᎻᏏᏂ Sarah Thompson

Patricia Welch

Field Building

CRAFT RESEARCH TALK

View the catalog

View the catalog

View the catalog

About RIPSTOP

The Center for Craft is excited to present a solo exhibition of patchwork textiles and inflatable sculptures by the Ohio-based fiber artist. Adrian’s volumetric, pneumatic work transports viewers into artifice, desire, and worldbuilding. Drawing from rich legacies of queer fiber art & theory, the exhibition features monumentally scaled works that physically respond to viewers presence by filling with air.

You can still sponsor RIPSTOP by contributing before July 12, 2024. Donate today for your opportunity to be recognized during the opening reception on July 26, 2024, and on the exhibition's Title Wall. To underwrite this exhibition, please donate now.

about the artists

Photo credit: Jamie Hopper

Photo credit: Jamie Hopper

Photo credit: Jamie Hopper

Photo credit: Jamie Hopper

about the curator

No items found.

exhibition Images

exhibition Images

Curatorial

The 2023 Curatorial Fellowship is supported, in part, by the Stoney Lamar Craft Endowment Fund.

Thank you to Phillips, the leading auction house in art and design, for sponsoring the Curatorial Fellowship show.

Thank

you to the

Virginia A. Groot Foundation

and

Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation

for

makng these residencies possible.

The 2023 Curatorial Fellowship is supported, in part, by the Stoney Lamar Craft Endowment Fund.

Thank you to Phillips, the leading auction house in art and design, for sponsoring the Curatorial Fellowship show.

RIPSTOP is supported, in part, by Arrowmont School of Arts and Craft.

The

Center

for

Craft

is

supported

in

part

by

the

,

a

division

of

the

Department

of

Natural

and

Cultural

Resources.

2023

Curatorial

Fellow

This exhibition was supported, in part, by the John W. and Anna H. Hanes Foundation,

and Buncombe County Government.

The 2023 Curatorial Fellowship is supported, in part, by the Stoney Lamar Craft Endowment Fund.

Thank you to Phillips, the leading auction house in art and design, for sponsoring the Curatorial Fellowship show.

The

Center

for

Craft

is

supported

in

part

by

the

,

a

division

of

the

Department

of

Natural

and

Cultural

Resources.

2023

Curatorial

Fellow

A special thanks to

and the

for sponsoring Handwork and Hope.

The 2023 Curatorial Fellowship is supported, in part, by the Stoney Lamar Craft Endowment Fund.

Thank you to Phillips, the leading auction house in art and design, for sponsoring the Curatorial Fellowship show.

The

Center

for

Craft

is

supported

in

part

by

the

,

a

division

of

the

Department

of

Natural

and

Cultural

Resources.

The 2023 Curatorial Fellowship is supported, in part, by the Stoney Lamar Craft Endowment Fund.

Thank you to Phillips, the leading auction house in art and design, for sponsoring the Curatorial Fellowship show.

Preservers, Innovators, and Rescuers of Culture in Chiapas is supported, in part by,

The Center for Craft is supported, in part, by the

Aram Han Sifuentes is a recipient of the Center for Craft’s 2022 Craft Research Fund Artist Fellowship. This substantial mid-career grant is awarded to two artists to support research projects that advance, expand, and support the creation of new research and knowledge through craft practice.

This

exhibition

is

supported

in

part

by

the

the

and

For a full listing of the generous funders supporting the Center for Craft and our programming visit centerforcraft.org/support

This

exhibition

is

supported

in

part

by

the

the

and

the

a

division

of

the

Department

of

Natural

and

Cultural

Resources.

For a full listing of the generous funders supporting the Center for Craft and our programming visit centerforcraft.org/support

The

Center

for

Craft’s

John

Cram

Partner

Gallery

presented

in

collaboration

with

UNC Asheville transforms lives through leadership and education. The designated liberal arts and sciences institution for the UNC System and one of the nation’s top 10 public liberal arts universities, UNC Asheville enrolls 3,600 students and offers more than 30 undergraduate majors and a Master of Liberal Arts and Sciences degree. UNC Asheville also encourages students to take part in a nationally acclaimed undergraduate research program and participate in interdisciplinary learning. From internships and hands-on projects, to study abroad and community engagement, students experience an education that extends beyond campus into the vibrant City of Asheville, the surrounding Blue Ridge Mountains and the world.

and

Warren Wilson College logo

A liberal arts college grounded in social responsibility, where hard work and community are more than just words.

.

This

exhibition

is

supported

in

part

by

the

the

and

For a full listing of the generous funders supporting the Center for Craft and our programming visit centerforcraft.org/support

More On View

Max Adrian, “A Fallible Complex,” 2021. Nylon, ripstop, blower, motion sensor. 92 x 136 x 76 inches.

Exhibition

Max Adrian: RIPSTOP

Through

Jul

26

Mar

29

Learn More

Exhibition

Connections in the Making

Through

Nov

17

Oct

31

Learn More