The Museum Center at 5ive Points presents... Josh Coleman, WHY SCULPTURE? July 26 - September 6, 2008

The Museum Center at 5ive Points has organized an exhibit of 21 pieces of contemporary sculpture by Cleveland artist Josh Coleman. 

The exhibit explores two themes: how artists are inspired and what impact outdoor contemporary sculpture can have on revitalizing downtown Cleveland.

The idea for the exhibit came in late 2007 when the Museum Center’s staff worked with Coleman to place one of his monumental sculptures on their front lawn.  Coleman intended for the sculpture to begin a dialogue among Cleveland officials and the public about the role of public sculpture in the community

and especially in downtown revitalization.

Resistance

Coleman used discarded tools typically found in a farmyard

to sculpt a rodeo calf straining against a rope.

Nature is another theme typically in Coleman’s art. 

He sees our junk and refuse as intimately connected with nature. 

He sees the beauty of nature in these growing mounds of refuse we create every day.  And he uses these discarded materials to create many of his pieces.  His most recent work, Liliana, was commissioned for the outdoor garden courtyard at the Museum Center at 5ive Points.  The piece represents a pear tree that was trained to grow into an elaborate candelabra shape.  The pears, created from green resin, create bursts of bright color.  For his material, Coleman used scrap metal and rebar discarded from construction projects. 

Several of Coleman’s pieces will be on view on the Museum’s front lawn area and back Courtyard. Others will be exhibited throughout the Museum Center.

Saturday July 26  2 - 4pm     Opening

                            3pm           Josh Coleman, Gallery Talk

Thursday July 31  6:30pm     Lecture, HANDS OF BRONZE

                                              Dr. Gavin Townsend, UTC professor

                                                                                 of art history

Saturday, August 30   10 - 3  Day Trip to Chattanooga to tour

                                              Sculpture with Rachel Hildebrant

To enhance the exhibit, the Museum Center is providing a series of education programs. The exhibit opens on Saturday, July 26, from 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.  As a special feature, Josh Coleman will host a gallery talk at 3:00 p.m.  Admission to the opening day event and gallery talk is $5 for adults, $4 for seniors and students, and free for museum members and children under 5.

On Saturday, August 30, the Museum Center will host a van trip in Chattanooga of the city’s public sculpture.  Rachel Hildebrant, Public Art Directory of the City of Chattanooga, will lead the tour.  Attendees will travel to Chattanooga by van, leaving from the Museum Center at 10:00 a.m., and will return at 3:00 p.m. The cost is $30 for non-museum members and $25 for museum members. Pre-reservations for this tour must be made by Wednesday, August 27th. To make reservations or to learn more about the education programs or exhibit call the Museum at 423-339-5745.

Coleman is a Cleveland native and a 2001 graduate of Atlanta College of Art whose work is diverse and cannot be pegged into just one artistic style.  Coleman’s character as a person comes through his work. Naturally enthusiastic and upbeat, as well as deeply spiritual, many of Coleman’s works look at our quest for spiritual wholeness.  One theme Coleman pursues is our dependence on a higher power.  For example, Man on Fire shows the silhouette of a man in supplication to a higher being. Another theme is our relationship with our fellow human beings.  United depicts almost 300 original cast hands from people living in Cleveland. They are joined together to form a living tree trunk that hold up a building foundation symbolizing how people can work together toward a common goal. 

This is the first exhibit of contemporary sculpture hosted at the Museum Center.

The Museum Center is open Tuesday-Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Saturday 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. The museum is closed Sunday, Monday & Holidays. Admission is $5 for adults, $4 for seniors and students, and free for children under 5. Groups of 12 or more are $4 each. Members of the Museum Center receive free admission.

click here for more on the Museum Center at 5ive Points.

The exhibit is sponsored by

Seasons Harvest Market

with additional support from a grant that comes under an agreement

with the State of Tennessee, the Tennessee Arts Commission and

the National Endowment for the Arts.