ARPA 10: Inside Out
at the Rauche Gallery,
Gaston College, Dallas, NC
April 2008
ARPA 10 in 2008
ARPA 10 traveling group exhibitions
ARPA 10: Just Works, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Rowe Gallery, January 14 - February 8, 2008, opening January 16, 5 - 7 pm
ARPA 10: Small Works, Three Wachovia Center, Charlotte, NC, January 25 - February 25, 2008
ARPA: InsideOut, Gaston College, Rauch Gallery, Gastonia, NC, March 10 - April 30, 2008
ARPA 10: Just Works, Rock Hill Arts Council, Dalton Gallery, Rock Hill, SC. April 4 - May 17, 2008. Opening April 10th at 6 pm
ARPA 10: Just Works, Art Academy of Lynchburg, VA, October 2008
Linda Luise Brown
Alyssa Wood
PRESS RELEASE
ARPA 10: Just Works
Rowe Gallery, Department of Art and Art History, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, (January 14 and ends February 8, 2008 with a reception January 16th, 5 - 7 p.m.
Alyssa Wood
ARPA 10: Just Works, a traveling group exhibition of fine art by a group of former residents artists of the McColl Center for the Visual Arts in Charlotte, NC, will be on exhibition in the Rowe Gallery at UNC Charlotte's Department of Art and Art History. New UNCC faculty member, contemporary art historian Prof. Jae Emerling, has curated / guided the artists' selections for the show and has written an accompanying statement about the group, which calls itself the ARPA 10. The exhibit includes large, small, and "shaped" paintings in oil, acrylic, watercolor, encaustic, and unorthodox materials such as tar. Installations in ARPA 10: Just Works are also comprised of video, polyurethane castings, wax paper blocks, and recycled plastics. Certain ceramic pieces involve painting, sculpture, and installation. Themes throughout the show include identity, re-emplacements of landscape, minimalism, environmental concerns, obsession with writing, mark making, ritual, gender issues, child rearing.
Michael Simpson, Amy Sanders
The ten artists first met at the McColl Center, in April, 2005. Over the following four months they continued to meet regularly to socialize and discuss each other's work. The group's working relationship proved so fruitful that the friends continued to meet long after their residencies had ended. At a Charlotte restaurant called ARPA (Spanish for harp), the artists discussed art and their work. The idea of a group exhibition arose naturally, as points of similarity and disparity sparked debate about the group's place in the art world. The group's first show, at the Oconee Cultural Arts Foundation in Watkinsville, Georgia, was curated and analyzed in a statement by Prof. Emeritus, Peg DeLamater of Winthrop University.
Felicia van Bork
At the group's monthly gatherings another puzzle arose. Why did the these ten artists coalesce as a group? There were several discussions about finding a common theme. Dr. DeLamater's essay provided some insight. She writes, ".these McColl artists constitute and eclectic celebration of multiplicity."
Linda Luise Brown
She goes on to state, "Rather than stemming from a common philosophy or a single approach to making art, the interaction and respect for each other's work that developed mirrors the insistence of the contemporary art world on diversity and individual expression." It was this realization that lead to the subtitle
David Edgar
The artists include Alyssa Wood and Felicia Van Bork (Davidson, NC); Linda Luise Brown, Laura McCarthy, David Edgar, and Amy Sanders (Charlotte, NC); Jennifer Gilomen (Clover, SC), Paula Smith and J. Michael Simpson (Rock Hill, SC); and Charles McMurray (Miami, FL- formerly of Charlotte, NC).
Jennifer Parham Gilomen
ARPA 10: Just Works begins January 14 and ends February 8th, 2008 at the UNC Charlotte's Department of Art and Art History in the Rowe Gallery. The opening reception will be January 16th, 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. The ARPA group will also be showing later this year at Gaston College's, Rauch Gallery, Gastonia, NC, at the York County Art Council's Dalton Gallery in Rock Hill, SC.
Paula Smith
The exhibition is free and open to the public Monday through Friday from (9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. For more information please call 
704/687-2869
.
Charles McMurray