Turchin Center Showcases New Exhibits for Fall Exhibit Celebration

Boone, NC – The Turchin Center for the Visual Arts will host an evening of creativity, artistic

exploration, and community engagement at Festive First Friday and Exhibition Celebration on

December 5 from 5-8pm. The event promises an immersive experience featuring the opening of

new exhibitions, artist conversations, themed refreshments and desserts, and live music by

Michael Flynn. The evening is sponsored by local business The Hive Bakery

With a firm commitment to fostering dialogue and understanding around pressing issues, the

Turchin Center is proud to present a diverse array of thought-provoking exhibitions. Through the

lens of artistic expression, three new exhibitions delve into the intricate relationships between

humanity, nature, and the rapidly changing world in which we live. It will also be the last chance

to view Threading: Contemporary Art of Thailand and Images and Music: John Cohen (both of

which close December 13).

New Exhibitions Overview:

Jake Eshelman: Telling of the Bees

Jake Eshelman weaves photography and scent to explore humanity’s enduring relationship

with honeybees. Through global stories of agriculture, bioengineering, medicine, and

spirituality, the exhibition reflects on the cultural and ecological importance of these tiny

pollinators.

SR Lejeune: contributing structure

Laurel Cottage was built in 1905 and demolished in 2022. In 1964, Laurel was acquired by

what is now called the Penland School of Craft. Laurel became a home to generations of

Penland staff, resident artists, and interns until left empty. In 2019, SR Lejeune temporarily

installed a cast paper floor in one of Laurel’s rooms. Now a floor without its building, this

work becomes a site around which memories of Laurel continue to collect.

Gretchen Ernster Henderson: Dear Body of Water

Dear Body of Water invites postcard-sized love letters (both digital and mail-art) to

recognize beloved rivers, oceans, aquifers, creeks, ponds, and other bodies of water to join a

collective poem.