Now Available in Gallery C



Quaking Tree

Copyright Mary Stubbs





JC Graham's Upcoming Exhibiton

Sound Advice For The Parents of Unruly Children

Artist's Reception:  Friday, December 2, 2011
5 to 8 PM

Free and Open To The Public

What is an 'assemblage'?

Liberty Level
Copyright JC Graham - All Rights Reserved



as·sem·blage   
noun
1. a group of persons or things gathered or collected; an assembly; collection; aggregate.
2. the act of assembling; state of being assembled.
3. Fine Arts .
a. a sculptural technique of organizing or composing into a unified whole a group of unrelated and often fragmentary or discarded objects.
b. a work of art produced by this technique. Compare collage, found object, ready-made ( def. 4 ) .
4. Archaeology . the aggregate of artifacts and other remains found on a site, considered as material evidence in support of a theory concerning the culture or cultures inhabiting it.

Come view a collection of cleverly crafted assemblages made from vintage materials  by Memphis artist JC Graham at the artist's reception on December 2, 2011, from 5 to 8 PM.

Vintage Assemblages Coming to FS



Public Opinion
Copyright JC Graham

Memphis artist J.C. Graham will present a new body of work at Gallery Fifty Six in December, 2011. His show is titled ‘Sound Advice For the Parents of Unruly Children”. This exhibition is a continuance upon several themes that have remained predominant in the artist’s work for several years: rigid patriarchal familial structures, religious/spiritual expectations and the artist’s experiences with each during his upbringing in rural Arkansas.

JC Graham has relied heavily upon assemblage constructions for this particular exhibit and has done so because he finds that physical artifacts more fervently manifest an emotional response from the viewer when working in this particular genre -- you might call it the "I remember those" or "so and so had one of those" moments. The elements are reflections upon Graham’s childhood experience and rural farm life experienced therein -- he was primarily cared for by his paternal grandparents and in turn developed a general disassociation with his peer group. Youth, as it turned out, was not as entertaining for him as the aged Southern conflict that was his grandparent's resentful bond to one another.

JC Graham has embellished much of the work with Southern US Homonyms; words and phrases that were his internal dialogue: repeated in pattern and presenting dual meanings to the viewer, some merely colloquial and many referencing southern spirituals. JC’s creations are familiarity fertilized with subtle sociopolitical statements peppered with trite comedic undertones. In physical regards, the artist has remained true to the primitive and gritty perplexities that made up the small rural farm town: worn wood, aged metal, ephemera both religious and secular and graphical elements including numbers and geometric artifice. Each
piece houses what could be interpreted as a criticism and an endorsement of the ideas that plagued JC’s young mind as he tried to create an identity in a world of spiritual illusion and nonbinding religious doctrine that moved about among the characters in his family’s own novella.

Sacred Vessels

Memphis artist Jason Miller will be included in the January 'New Talent: 2012' exhibition. 

He will exhibit a few pieces from his latest work 'Sacred Vessels'. 

 Each photograph is approximately 2 x 3 feet, 3 inches deep.

Copyright Jason Miller - All Rights Reserved

'New Talent:  2012" will be to introduce new artists to the Memphis scene.

Lots of Surprises

Artist JC Graham will surprise and amaze you with his creative new work.  His exhibition is called "Good Advice For The Parents of Unruly Children' opens on December 2, 2011.  You
don't want to miss his show!

Flight by JC GrahamCopyright JC Graham - All Rights Reserved



JC Graham - Coming in December

JC Graham presents

GOOD ADVICE FOR THE PARENTS OF UNRULY CHILDREN

Art Assemblages

VOLUNTEER by JC Graham
Copyright JC Graham - All Rights Reserved

Artist's Reception - December 2, 2011

5 to 8 PM

Free and Open To The Public

New Work At The Gallery



"Seeking The Quiet Mind" Copyright Steve Crowe

Gallery Fifty Six will present a few works of Steve Crowe in Gallery C during the December exhibiton.
The artist will also be part of the January 2012 show "New Talent:  2012".





Gifts From The Gallery



Copyright Bradley Wilson, All Rights Reserved



Gallery Fifty Six has a wide selection of smaller works of art that will make the perfect gift.  Come by the gallery and browse the racks in our Archive Room.  We have small works by Mariana De Marchi, John Armistead, Madison Sherman, Bradley Wilson, Art Covington and many others. Original art makes a wonderful gift to give for Christmas.



Pseudonyms Revealed

The Pseudonym Exhibition is about to come to a close. Below are the real names of the artists who participated in the show:

Forrest Henry is Chuck Johnson

Carroll Sellers is Mike Coulson

John Doe is Madison Sherman

Juan Rhodes is Paul Clarke
William David is John Armistead
Jennie McGregor is Jeanne Seagle

Vladimir Klozovich is Bryan Blankenship

Anonymous Cliche is Eli Gold

Gros Glasern Gabel is Jan Hankins
Evelyn Skinker is Carol De Forest

Rouge Dottier is John Sadowski

Les Selin is Niles Wallace

The exhibition will close on Friday, November 25th, 2011

You still have time to see it on Saturday, November 18;

Wednesday, November 23; and Friday, November 25, 2011

New Talent: 2012

Gallery Fifty Six is proud to announce the participants in the upcoming 'New Talent:  2012' exhibition that will show during the month of January, 2012.

  Included in this exhibition of 'new talent' will be:

Candace Canerdy

Curt Crocker

Steve Crowe

Evan Lebaroff

John Hood-Taylor

Virginia Jenkins

Ross McLean

Meredith Olinger

Jason Miller

Alexandria Pearson

Hans Videll

Andrew Williams



Coming In December - JC Graham

JC Graham's "History Lesson"
Artist's reception December 2, 2011



Artist in the Pseudonym Exhibition

Thanks to all the artists who participated in the Pseudonym Exhibition, currently showing at Gallery Fifty Six.
Twelve local artists agreed to create a work of art that is different from what they normally do and signed it with a pseudonym..  The local artists are Madison Sherman, John Sadowski, Carol DeForest, Bryan Blankenship, Mike Coulson, Niles Wallace, Eli Gold, Chuck Johnson, Paul Clarke, Jeanne Seagle, John Armistead, and Jan Hankins.  This show runs until November 25th, 2011.  See if you can match the pseudonym with the real artist and win a free luch for two at the Cafe Palladio.

Coming To The Gallery In December

Drawings in soft pastel and colored pencil by Argentine artist  Mariana De Marchi.

Coming In December!

Argentine artist Mariana De Marchi sent Gallery Fifty Six over 25 new works of art that will be

available for sale beginning December 2, 2011. 

 



Follow Us on TWITTER

We're proud to announce that Gallery Fifty Six is now on Twitter.  We'd be delighted if you will follow us galleryfiftysix .

'Like' Us!



If you are a member of Facebook, it would be great if you would please go to www.facebook.com/galleryfiftysix and click the 'like' button.  Help us to promote Gallery Fifty Six!

Free Gift from Gallery Fifty Six

Just a reminder that Gallery Fifty Six will be giving away a free lithograph as part of the Palladio Group's Christmas Open House events on November 11th and 12th.  The print is numbered and signed by Rollin Kocsis, the artist.  All you have to do is come to the gallery and ask for your print.  One per person, while they last.

Images from 'Pseudonyms'

You will be pleasantly surprised at the high quality of art in the Pseudonym Exhibiton at Gallery Fifty Six

Created by 'Juan Rhodes'

Created by 'Vladimar Klozovitch'

Created by 'Anonymous Cliche'

See The Video of the Pseudonym Exhibition

Click the link below to see a YouTube video of the Pseudonym Exhibition:

http://youtu.be/j_CNUEc6S6U

Just A Reminder...

Just a reminder that  "An Adventure In Art" and "The Pseudonym Exhibition" will open with an artists' reception tomorrow, Friday, November 4, 2011 from 5 to 8 PM.  Twelve artists will present their art in Gallery A and B under different names, in the Pseudonym Exhibiton.  Included in this exhibition are oil and acrylic paintings on canvas, welded metal sculptures, wood and found object constructions, plaster sculpture, colored pencil drawings, and wall sculptures made from Great Stuff.

The drawings and paintings of  Billy Price Carroll are being shown in Gallery C in her exhibition 'An Adventure In Art'.  Mrs. Carroll was a well known and loved Memphis artist who had over 50 one-person exhibitions throughtout the United States and abroad.  There is also a collection of sketches by her that are shrink-wrapped and available for purchase.

Also in Gallery C is the work of J.C. Graham, John Sosh, Paul Clarke, John Armistead, Niles Wallace, Bridget Russell, Eli Gold, Jeannine Paul, Richard Hendrickson, Madison Sherman, Emery Franklin, Bryan Blankenship, Jan Hankins, Nancy White, Forrest Henry, and our new artist from Louisville, Kentucky, Joyce Garner.

Come and have a piece of cake as Rollin Kocsis celebrates his first year as director of Gallery Fifty Six.

New Painting by John Armistead

Gallery Fifty Six has recently acquired a new oil on canvas by John Armisted.  This painting is titled 'A Haven of Rest' and it is 30" X 40".  It is available for purchase.

Copyright John Armistead

Looking Ahead To December

Memphis artist J.C. Graham is putting the finishing touches on his exhibition for December.  "Sound Advice For The Parents of Unruly Children" will be a very interesting show that we eagerly await. Here is a sneak-peak of his work:

Copyright J.C. Graham

Do You REALLY Know These Artists"



Can you figure out 'who did what' in the upcoming Pseudonym Exhibition at Gallery Fifty Six?  The artists participating are Carol De Forest, Chuck Johnson, Madison Shermon, Niles Wallace, John Sadowski, Mike Coulson, John Armistead, Bryan Blankenship, Jeanne Seagle, Paul Clarke, Jan Hankins, and Eli Gold.  See if you can match the artist with the art, and win a free lunch at the Cafe Palladio.

Work In Progress



Copyright Carroll Sellers





Gallery Fifty Six will have two great shows this month.  The Pseudonym Exhibition will show in Gallery B, and the work of the late Billy Price Carroll will be exhibited in Gallery C.  There will be 'something for everyone'.

Billy Price Carroll was a well-known, and well-respect Memphis artist.  She truly had 'an adventure in art', and her work has been shown throughout the world.  Gallery Fifty Six will present over 30 of her paintings, pastels, and drawings.  Many of the pieces are framed, and there is a wide selection of her sketches that are mounted or matted, and shrink-wrapped. 

Twelve artists will be participating in The Pseudonym Exhibit, and each artist has created a work of art that is different from their usual work.  The artists have all selected a pseudonym, and the names of the 'real' artists will be revealed on Nov. 19th.  Patrons may participate and try to 'match' the real artist with their pseudonym.  The first three persons to get the matches correctly will receive a free lunch for two at the Cafe Palladio.

The artists' reception is November 4th, 2011, from 5 to 8 PM.  The exhibition will run from November 4th through November 26th, 2011

A Gift For Our Patrons

Gallery Fifty Six is getting into the holiday spirit.  As part of the Palladio Group's Holiday Open House, Gallery Fifty Six will be giving away a signed and numbered print by Memphis artist Rollin Kocsis, just for the asking. The print is valued at $110.00.   All you have to do is visit the gallery on November 11th or 12th, 2011, and ask for your free print.

This print is a limited edition titled "Is Anyone Comin' To Get Me".  This is a spiritual piece that was created in response to the disaster caused by Hurricane Katrina.  The orginal, an acrylic painting on canvas, is now in a private collection.  The edition is 500 prints, and will be offered free of charge as long as the supply lasts.




Get a signed and numbered print of "Is Anybody Comin' To Get Me" free of charge
 by Memphis artist Rollin Kocsis



New Work From Argentina

Mariana De Marchi, our artist from Argentina, sent us over 25 new works of art for the gallery.  Paintings, drawings, and mixed media pieces are in the collection. There are several small delightful pieces that children will love.  These works, and others by Mariana, will be presented in Gallery C during our December exhibition.

Copyright Mariana De Marchi

Copyright Mariana De Marchi

Copyright Mariana De Marchi

Artists Delivering Art

Today the gallery received a number of pieces for the upcoming Pseudonym Exhibiton.  The painting below was created by 'Les Selin'.

The artists' reception is on Friday, Nov. 4th., from 5 to 8 PM

The event is free and open to the public.

New Art In The Gallery - Paintings by Joyce Garner

Joyce Garner documents her rich inner world (a world of acrobats, wanderers, animals, magic, city and forest) in large, vividly-pigmented surrealist paintings.  Garner has had fourteen solo exhibitions of her work since 1991. 



Cold Shoulder - Copyright Joyce Garner

 Joyce is a self-taught artist.  The painterliness and scope of her work reflects deep study of various forerunners - Cassatt, Matisse, Picasso, and Chagall.  Her ambitions for her work are shaped by how she uses art in her personal life; she prefers art which rewards extended meditative contemplation.



Eggshell - Copyright Joyce Garner



A native Kentuckian, Joyce's earliest influences were American pop culture, fairy tales, children's novels, Appalachian craft traditions and the lamplit realities of rural living.  Joyce describes her work as "a world of my own making.  I can enter in and really spend time there.  And when I'm in the painting, it feels like magic."

Virginia Jenkins Coming To Gallery Fifty Six

Gallery Fifty Six is pleased to announce that ceramic sculptor Virginia Jenkins will be showing some of her work at the gallery beginning in November.

Virginia Jenkins creates ceramic sculpture inspired by her love and concern for the plight of earth’s oceans and the paradoxical logic of society. Phenomenological philosophy, empathy, and self-realization are key conceptual components that guide her work and interests.





Copyright Virginia Jenkins



She has undertaken artist residencies at The Banff Centre in Alberta, Canada; The Mendocino Art Center in California; The Sages housed by the Inn at Sunrise Springs in Santa Fe, New Mexico; The Armory Art Center in West Palm Beach, Florida and is excited to fulfill a new position at Pottery Northwest in Seattle this January.



Copyright Virginia Jenkins



Virginia has been published in one of the ceramic field’s top magazines, Ceramics Monthly. Her work has been exhibited nationally in both juried and invitational settings.

She recently completed her coursework for an M.F.A from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville.

Copyright Virginia Jenkins

Coming November 4th, 2011

SHOWING IN NOVEMBER:  PSEUDONYMS



PSEUDONYMS EXHIBITION

In November, 13 local artists will change their name and their style for an exhibition titled 'Pseudonyms'.

Be sure to attend the artists' reception on November 4th, from 5 to 8 PM.  You will have the chance to meet all the artists.  Come and see if you can correctly match the artist with the pseudonym.  If you are one of the first three people to get all the artists correct, you will win a free lunch for two at Cafe Palladio.

 The Pseudonyms The Artists Have Selected

 Anonymous Cliche

 William David

 John Doe

 Rouge Dottier

 Gros Glasern Gabel

 Forrest Henry

 Vladimir Klozovich

 Jennie McGregor

 Juan Rhodes

 Harold and Scott Salgood

 Carroll Sellers

 Les Selin

 Evelyn Skinker

The Paricipating Artists

  John Armistead

 Bryan Blankenship

 Paul Clarke

 Mike Coulson

 Carol De Forest

 David Douglas

 Eli Gold

Jan Hankins

Chuck Johnson

John Sadowski

Jeanne Seagle

 Madison Sherman

Niles Wallace

 

The true identity of the creator of the works will be revealed on Nov. 19, 2011



Come Celebrate With Me

This month marks my first full year as director of Gallery Fifty Six.  It has been a terrific experience, and I am so grateful to have the opportunity to work in a fantastic gallery with great art and even greater artists.

Come and celebrate with me during the artist's reception for the Pseudonyms and Billy Price Carroll Exhibition on November 4th, 2011.  I hope you will have a piece of cake with me, help share my first anniversary, and enjoy the wonderful art on exhibit.

Gallery Fifty Six is one of the BEST commercial art galleries in the city of Memphis. This is only the beginning of great things to come.

An Adventure In Art

Gallery Fifty Six will have two shows during the month of November.  In addition to the Pseudonyms Exhibition, the gallery will also present some of the work of the late Billy Price Carroll.


Summer Snowballs -   Copyright Billy Price Carrol

Billy Price Carroll, a native of Memphis, has always been an artist.  From the beginning of her career in 1949, Mrs. Carroll's word-of-mounth painting and portrait commissions took her on a full-time endeavor of worldwide adventure in the discovery of creating.

Her works are now in collections in Mexico, France, Germany, Italy, England, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, as well as in numberous states throughout the United States, including Hawaii.  Over the past 55 years, Mrs. Carroll held over 49 'one woman' invitational exhibitions, the most notable of which was in 1969 at the Taiwan National Historical Museum in Taipei.  Here career has been listed in Marquis Who's Who in America since 1976 and Who's Who in the World since 1988.

Art was Mrs. Carroll's life.  She lived it to the fullest.  Each day to her was a new adventure,  and each painting and sculplture was the portrayal of that adventure.  Her yearning was an insatiable search to capture her subjects' inner spirit, that perfect moment of delight, or that spark of child-like wonder.

Gallery Fifty Six will exhibit a collection of her landscapes and still lifes in Gallery C. The opening reception will be on November 4, 2011 from 5 to 8 PM.  If you would ilke to see more of art by Billy Price Carrol, please visit this website:  http://www.billypricecarroll.com/



Some Faces You'll See at Pseudonyms

Next month Gallery Fifty Six will present Pseudonyms, an art exhibition where artists will 'not be themselves'.  Each artist will select a pseudonym and create a work unlike their style.

Below are two portraits by 'William David' that you will see at the exhibition. The opening reception is on Nov. 4, 2011 from 5 to 8 PM.

Mariana De Marchi - A New Gallery Fifty Six Artist



Gallery Fifty Six is proud to welcome Mariana De Marchi as one of our artists.

Mariana De Marchi lives in Argentina. She graduated in 2002 from the National School of Fine Arts Prilidiano Pueyrredón as National Professor of Drawing. In 2003, she earned National Professor of Sculpture.


Mariana studied her post graduate work in seminaries of the Superior School of Fine Arts Ernesto de la Carcova in lithography, wall painting in fresco, ceramic and artistic graphic. She has won numerous first prizes, mainly in drawing, engraving and painting. Her work has been shown in the Sans Souci Palace, the Quinta Trabucco, the Museum of Fine Arts Benito Quinquela Martín, the National Museum of Fine Arts of Taiwan and in several foundations and cultural institutions. Her work has also been shown in Romany, Taiwan, Italy and USA.


Mariana is an art educator and she is currently a professor of studio art in Buenos Aires, Argentina.


Currently, we have a number of illuminated monoprints by Mariana De Marchi.  We will be receiving new work from her in the coming weeks.  All her work is available upon request.

PSEUDONYMS COMING IN NOVEMBER

This November, thirteen local artists will take on a different persona in an exhibition at Gallery Fifty Six titled 'Pseudonyms'.  Each artist will select a new name and create a work of art that is unlike their current style. The real identities of the artists will be revealed on November 19, 2011.


Painting by 'Carroll Sellers'



The artists involved in the Pseudonym Exhibition are John Armistead, Bryan Blankenship, Paul Clarke, Mike Coulson, Carol De Forest, David Douglas, Eli Gold, Jan Hankins, Chuck Johnson, Jeanne Seagle, Madison Sherman, John Sadowski, and Niles Wallace

Get ready for some fun and some really good art.  All guests are invited to try to match the art with the true artist. The first person to correctly match all the artists with their art will receive two free lunches at Cafe Palladio.

Pseudonyms opens on November 4th, 2011, with an artists' reception from 5 to 8 PM.

Over 100 Guests!

Our artists' reception for the Memphis/Germantown Art League's 2011 Juried Exhibition was a tremendous success.  We had over 100 visitors to attend the event. Everyone enjoyed the viewing the art and talking to friends and associates.  Thanks to everyone who made this event a night to remember.  Below are some photos taken at the reception:

 

MGAL Exhibition: Ready, Set, Go!

The Memphis/Germantown 2011 Juried Exhibition is up at the gallery and everything looks great!  There is a wide variety of subject matter and mediums used.  Portraits and figures are in Gallery B1, and landscapes are in Gallery B2.  Down the steps, or Gallery C, is where you will find still lifes and floral work.  The small room adjacent to the desk, Gallery A, consists of photography and small works.  A Best-In-Show, Second, and Third Place awards will be presented at the artist's reception on Friday, Oct. 7th, from 5 until 8 PM.  Two honorable mentions will also be awarded.


You are invited to attend the artist's reception, where light refreshements will be served.  This event is
free and open to the public.

If you don't know where the gallery is, it is located at 2256 Central Avenue, between S. Cooper and East Parkway South.  We are across the street from Central Bar-B-Que.  Parking is available in front of the gallery, on New York and Philadelphia streets, across the street at Lee Pruitt (they will be closed), and down half a block at Market Central or at the WaterWorks Annex.

Under Construction

If you have recently tried to access the Gallery Fifty Six web site, you need to know that it is currently under construction.  We are in the process of re-designing some aspects of our site to make your web browsing experience even more enjoyable.  Just as soon as we are finished with the changes, we'll let you know.
You will be able to find out everything you need to know about Gallery Fifty Six right here on our blog.