April in the Galleries: Featuring the Work of Karen Bernstein, Brenan Sharp, Marla Faith, The History of the Jewish Press exhibit.

Avadim, by Karen Bernstein

The Janet Levine March Gallery will feature the work of Karen Bernstein. Karen is a Nashville-based fiber artist who produces modern quilts. She received training in studio art and art history at Brandeis University. Her work has been included in the book New Wave Quilt by Mitsumura Suiko Shoin and in the Autumn 2022 issue of Art Quilting Studio magazine.

Bernstein’s pieces explore color, light and pattern in fabric to create painterly effects. Her “River Run” series explores the four seasons around a river theme. The large, free-standing pieces are hung in custom-made wrought iron frames in the design of Japanese tori gates.

Bernstein’s “Words of Wisdom” series explores famous phrases, with the colors of the pieces evoking the word images, while her “In the Beginning” series again explores colors using shapes that are reminiscent of the beginnings of life on earth.

Brian Jones, by Brenan Sharp

The JLMG2 Gallery will feature the work of Brenan Sharp. Sharp tackles Pop Art and Fauvism with the whim of his brush, throwing in the occasional statement for good measure. He feels re-invention is the key to staying fresh and tries to do so with every new show. Brenan’s artistic pursuit has been described as “a delicate assault on popular culture” by the Nashville Scene, where he won Nashville’s Best Local Visual Artist three times. After living in Chicago, he has returned to Nashville where he is once again showing his art in the J Galleries.

 

The Sig Held Gallery will feature the “History of the Jewish Press” exhibit with work by several local and non-local artists. The exhibit focuses on American Jewish Press Association’s history and art work inspired by the Jewish publications across the country, with artists using the actual papers to create statements concerning the importance of a free, inclusive press in this country and around the world.

Nesting, by Marla Faith

The Senior Lounge Gallery features the work of Marla Faith. Faith grew up in the northwestern suburbs of Chicago. She attended Bard College in New York’s Hudson Valley, and The Kansas City Art Institute, before receiving her BFA in Painting from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and her MS in Museum Leadership from Bank Street College in NYC.

She has directed art education programs at The Art Institute of Chicago, The Guggenheim Museum, Storm King Art Center in Mountainville, NY, and Cheekwood in Nashville. Since moving from NY to Nashville in 1990, she has had long term positions teaching art (& art history) at Currey Ingram Academy, Eakin Elementary, and Harpeth Hall School. Shorter teaching assignments include USN, Templeton Academy, O’More College of Art, and currently the Waldorf Homeschool group, and private adult lessons. The title of her current exhibit is The Female Spirit: Figures, Real and Imaginary.

The House Gallery continues to feature the Under One Roof collaborative exhibit.

The Art Reception will be Wednesday, April 12th from 6 – 8pm.

The Exhibition Dates are April 1-30th.

The exhibitions are free and open to the public. Attendees will need sign in at the front desk. For more information, contact the GJCC at 615.354-1699, Curator Carrie Mills at carrie@nashvillejcc.org, or go to www.nashvillejcc.org.