Popular Secret Show Series revives in Renaissance Center's gallery

Release Date: 12/29/2007. Expired: 3/1/2008

In something like a class reunion, artists from the former Secret Show Series in Nashville will once again put their works on display in an exhibit in the Visual Arts Gallery of The Renaissance Center in Dickson.

The Secret Show Series exhibit will be Jan. 25-March 1. An opening reception will be 6-7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 25.

“The goal of the Secret Show Series is to provide an opportunity for artists to present expressive works without the politics and pressures of commodification,” according to a statement on the series’ Web site, www.secretshowseries.com. “These shows offer a forum for the artists to share ideas, concepts and themes with which they are currently working, allowing the public a chance to interact and respond to the development of ideas.”

Continuing the ongoing tradition of the group exhibition is a rapidly growing trend in the contemporary arts, according to Armon Means, curator for The Renaissance Center.

“In recent years groups of artists have banded together within Middle Tennessee communities to increase exposure and exhibition opportunities. The benefits to such a like-minded gathering are many, but there are also downfalls,” Means said. “A group could be too diverse in its showing selections, leaving the viewer to feel lost in a sea of disparate ideas. Individual concerns can often begin to outweigh the better interests of the group if careful consideration isn’t given to the needs of both the parts and the whole.”

In Nashville one group that began as a selection of students and slowly grew to include a slew of instructors and independent artists, eventually forming a devoted, but ever-evolving series of exhibitions, was The Secret Show artists. While headed by a core of few, the body continued to grow and change from one show to the next.

The audience always was treated to diverse yet unified exhibits created under a central theme and shown for a short period of time (often one night). Once moving nomadically from location to location, the series would eventually find a home in the old industrial area south of downtown Nashville on Chestnut Street.

“Over a few short years the Secret Show Series would gain an equally devoted following and help bring to light emerging artists, but also allow creative freedom for more established ones seeking a vacation from their more recognized work,” Means said. “Ultimately the series was about ‘art for art’s sake’ – removing the veil of commercialism and commodity. The concern wasn’t to sell work, but to engage the viewer and create an artistic dialog among a community of like-minded individuals.”

The Secret Show Series has since ended, and the Chestnut Street location grown quiet, as many of the participants and founders have moved on to graduate school, other cities or even careers. Fortunately, the few remaining (and even a few from afar) have agreed to come together for an exhibition in the Visual Arts Gallery of The Renaissance Center.

Some of the artists who have been featured in Secret Show Series exhibitions include Jenny Baggs, Joel Batey, Mike Bielaczyc, Rachel Brown, Patrick Brien, Will ClenDening, Lisa Deal, Patrick DeGuira, Jennifer Dick, Amanda Dillingham, Chris Doubler, Jason Driskill, Derek Gibson, Terry Glispin, Danny Greene, Dan Hall, Kristi Hargrove, Beth Hartman-Peters, Lee Ann Hawkins, Erin Hewgley, Emily Holt, Mark Hosford, Brian Hulsey, Debbie Kraski, Angela Messina, Trevor Mikula, Gillian Mosvold, Ryan Norris, Eve Peach, Jaime Raybin, Julie Roberts, Jonathan Rogers, Jack Dingo Ryan, Geoffrey Sexton, Shaun Slifer, Brett Smithson, Heather Spriggs-Thompson, Matt Swanson, Iwonka Waskowski, Abby Whisenant, Kristen Burton Work, Barbara Yontz, Lain York and The Renaissance Center’s Means.

With the assistance of co-founder and Fairview native Amanda Dillingham, The Renaissance Center is proud to present the artists of the Secret Show Series.

For more information on the Secret Show Series at The Renaissance Center, contact Means at (615) 740-5545 or armon.means@rcenter.org, or visit www.rcenter.org. The galleries of The Renaissance Center are open 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Saturday and admission to exhibits and receptions is free.

The Renaissance Center is a fine arts education and performing arts center at 855 Highway 46 South in Dickson, just 35 miles west of Nashville on Interstate 40 at exit 172.

Visit the Visual Arts Gallery page for more about the gallery.

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