What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1332031
8 WHAT'S UP! JANUARY 24-30, 2021 COVER STORY Sheltered Pandemic inspires artists to consider isolation, refuge BECCA MARTIN-BROWN NWA Democrat-Gazette S HELTER," an exhibit by artist Byron Keith Byrd, and "domicile" by Stefani Byrd, his niece, hold a unique place in the history of Fenix Fayetteville. Together with other Fenix artists, they make up the first exhibit of 2021 for the art collective — and the last at the gallery space at 16 W. Center St. The new year also marks a change of status and of name for the arts organization. Now known as the Visual and Performing Arts Center at Fenix, it has received 501(c)3 status as a nonprofit. And come spring, it will make its home on Mount Sequoyah, says Board Chairwoman Laurie Foster. "We, unfortunately, lost our lease at our current location," Foster says. "But we are doing well and are excited to be moving in March to a gallery space at Mount Sequoyah and are looking forward to collaborating with the Mount Sequoyah Creative Center to bring the arts alive on the mountain." 'SHELTER' Byron Keith Byrd "SHELTER" is also unique by its own merit. Byron Byrd is a New York artist, but the large-scale abstract expressionist paintings in this exhibit were created while he was in quarantine in Northwest Arkansas beginning in March 2020. "Byron Keith Byrd seems to have an intuitive sense of composition, as demonstrated in his most recent paintings," says Shannon Dillard Mitchell, an art curator and treasurer of the Fenix Board. "His choice of media — often a combination of oil, spray paint, oil stick and more — gives form to his lyrical abstraction, while his fluidity of gesture paired with bold mark making brings it all into balance. The addition of diamond dust as an element in the larger canvases adds a layer of luminosity that encompasses Byrd's joie de vivre." Byrd started his art career with crayons on his bedroom wall, he remembers. "I grew up on a 500-acre working farm in northwest Georgia, where I felt misplaced to say the least," he explains. Making art was much preferred over "tending the massive vegetable gardens, working in the hay fields or tending to the varied livestock." "After several wall touch-ups by my mother — who wrote poetry — I was given an oil paint set at the age of 13," he relates. "My first painting was of the very farm which took me so many years to finally appreciate: grandfather's barn reflecting in the lake. "Being an artist was my vision and direction for as long as I can remember," Byrd adds. "Upon graduating from University of West Georgia, Carrollton, I took my BA degree to New York City and was included in a group show on Madison Avenue within one year. "I did supplement my income by creating windows at Macy's Herald Square," he explains. "The Christmas windows were my favorite to install, which gave me the idea to do a book "With 'The Ozark Collection,' Byron Keith Byrd has captured the energy of abstraction — via honest and well-crafted technique — and brought it to a heightened level of expression," says independent curator Shannon Dillard Mitchell. (Courtesy Image/ Theobald Creative) FAQ 'SHELTER' WHEN — Through Feb. 24; hours are 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Wednes- day-Friday and 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday WHERE — Visual and Perform- ing Arts Center at Fenix, 16 W. Center St. in Fayetteville COST — Free INFO — fenixfayettevilleart.com FYI — Per Arkansas Depart- ment of Health covid-19 safety guidelines, visitors are required to wear face coverings and practice social distancing when visiting the gallery.