Art can come from just about anything. Out of the Ordinary invites you to rethink your junk drawer and maybe even your trash. Artists John Salvest and Les Christensen transform the ordinary into the extraordinary, turning what most think of as trash or junk into thought-provoking and beautiful sculptures and installations. Both artists work in education at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro. Salvest is a Professor of Art, and Christensen is the Director of the Bradbury Art Museum. Christensen and Salvest have exhibited thoughout the South and beyond in group and solo exhibitions.
Les Christensen’s art objects and installations have been presented in numerous solo and group shows including exhibitions at the New Orleans Museum of Art in Louisiana. Her work has been recognized with awards and grants including a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship Award in Sculpture and an Arkansas Arts Council Fellowship Award in Sculpture. She received her BFA in sculpture from the University of Iowa, spent a year of graduate school at the Rijksuniversiteit te Utrecht in the Netherlands and then received her MA in sculpture from Arkansas State University. She currently lives in Jonesboro, Arkansas where she is the director of the Bradbury Art Museum at Arkansas State University.
Additionally, two programs will be offered in support of the Out of the Ordinary exhibition, including “Once an English Major…” where accomplished Artist and Professor John Salvest, discusses the use of text and narrative in his work in this free presentation on March 31st from 5:30pm to 7:00pm. “Studio Time with Les Christensen and John Salvest” will be offered in our studio, where the artists will prove that art truly can come from just about anything. This class will focus on conceptual building with a variety of everyday objects, resulting in a textual, sculptural and original works of art. The class will be offered April 2nd and will be $70.00 for non-members, and $50.00 for AMoA supporting Members.
Speaking of the AMoA Permanent Collection, you are invited to get to know it even better in our latest AMoA 4.0 Beta Exhibition, Treasured Gifts: Recent Acquisitions. If you visited during the winter exhibitions, you were invited to curate your own virtual Max Papart collection at our interactive kiosks throughout the gallery. Treasured Gifts will have interactive opportunities throughout the Treasured Gifts exhibition, giving our visitors a chance to let us know what you think about the art on exhibit. We want you to have an active role in the permanent exhibit of the Alexandria Museum of Art, so please let us know what you think!
Treasured Gifts features works of art that have been donated to the museum since 2011. These works include a variety of themes, styles, and mediums. Some were donated by artists after they had an exhibit at AMoA, and some were donated by private collectors. This exhibition will also include more examples from the 99 piece donation by the Office of the Lieutenant Governor and the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, the Office of Cultural Development, in the Division of the Arts in the State of Louisiana.
The work of the Alexandria Museum of Art depends heavily on acquisitions to our permanent collection. AMoA strives to identify, collect and display the best work by leading 20th and 21st century artists of Louisiana and the South, as well as artists who worked in, were influenced by, or influenced art in the South. This mission helps the museum to establish a permanent treasury of our region’s creative heritage. In order to accomplish this mission, the Alexandria Museum of Art seeks works which have a high degree of historical, cultural, and artistic significance to the region.
These exhibitions open on Friday, March 4th at the Member Preview and Opening Reception, from 6:00pm to 8:00pm. Members are invited to attend. The exhibitions open to the public on Saturday, March 5th at 10:00am, and will be on display until May 21st. AMoA would like to thank Sayes Office Supply for their support of this exhibition.