Lipscomb professor's art can be viewed in Nashville's new Music City Center
Janel Shoun-Smith |
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Where to see Warren Green's
2-4 p.m., Guided Tours
August-May 2014 |
The opening of Nashville’s 1.2-million-square-foot Music City Center on May 19 was a milestone not only for the city, but for Lipscomb University’s art department as well.
Two of Lipscomb Art Chair Warren Greene’s works are among the $2 million in art displayed in the nation’s newest convention center, toured by more than 15,000 people during the grand opening festivities on May 19.
The public has a second chance to see the art collection at 2-4 p.m. on June 1 when the city will hold another public open house and dedication of the Music City Center’s art collection, featuring presentations by the seven artists who created site-specific commissioned pieces and a reception with the various artists.
In addition to the major pieces, 62 works by 48 local artists, including Greene, were selected by the Music City Center Public Art Committee to display in the new center. Those works were chosen from 2,500 images submitted for the facility. Each displayed work has a QR code which can be scanned by cell phone to reveal information on the artist and the piece.
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| Untitled work in the Music City Center |
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| Examples of Greene's past works. |
The Music City Center, stretching from Fifth to Eighth avenues along Demonbreun, is open to the public whenever there is an event scheduled at the facility. To find out when the building is open, call the main number at 615.401.1400.
Greene’s two untitled abstract paintings, one a red and one a blue piece, are non-representational takes on the traditional landscape, Greene said. “My work tends to mimic multiple things simultaneously, but it doesn’t look like any one thing,” he said.
Greene, who has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Freed-Hardeman University and a Master of Fine Arts from the Memphis College of Art, said he began his career as a landscape artist, but gradually his work has become more abstract.
“When I paint, I try to paint how I feel and think about the land, so it’s not realistic visually, but it is realistic emotionally and intellectually,” he said.
Following the lead of public input, the Music City Center Public Art Committee worked to find pieces that reflect the city’s diverse musical and cultural heritage and to showcase the city’s progressive and entrepreneurial spirit. A priority was placed on supporting local artists in the selection process.
“Any time I have an opportunity to be a part of a public art collection where the public will see the art for many years to come, that really interests me,” Greene said. “It’s an honor to be included in such a grand space with a lot of really well-known artists.
“This is a great time to be in Nashville as an artist and educator. As Nashville becomes a larger cultural center, it’s growing in many other areas of culture (besides music).”
Other artists featured in the Music City Center include Benjamin Ball, Gaston Nogues, Beth Galston, Phillip K. Smith, Aaron Stephan and Nashville artists Alicia Henry and Jamaal Sheats.
Greene, who has served as Lipscomb’s art department chair for the past year, previously taught at Austin Peay State University. He has shown his works at Cumberland Gallery in Nashville and at the David Perry Smith Gallery in Memphis. His works have previously been purchased by the Tennessee State Museum and the Janet and Jim Ayers Collection of Tennessee Art.
In addition to the chance to see his art on June 1 at the Music City Center, the public will be able to see Greene’s art at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts beginning in August. The “Abstractometry” exhibit, in the Conte Community Arts gallery, features eight Nashville-area artists who employ geometric patterns to signify interconnected systems of nonverbal signs and symbols.
As part of the Frist exhibit, Greene will be one of two artists featured at the Artist’s Forum on Aug. 29, at 6:30 p.m., in the Rechter Room at the Frist Center. Greene will talk about how he approaches art with an eye to the past and an appreciation of the present.