Visual Arts Gallery features Off the Wall founding members Jan. 23-March 14

Release Date: 1/22/2009. Expired: 3/14/2009

The six founding members of the Off the Wall art group will be featured in the Visuals Arts Gallery of The Renaissance Center in Dickson Jan. 23-March 14.

An opening reception for the exhibit will be 6-7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 30.

After meeting as students at Watkins College of Art, Design & Film in Nashville, Jaime Raybin, Jenny Luckett, Mahlea Jones, Janet Heilbronn, Iwonka Waskowski and Quinn Dukes sensed a connection between their artwork. Besides sharing a similar artistic language and a curiosity of materials, all were interested in making work with personal resonance in a conceptual manner.

Soon after these creative relationships were apparent, the six came together to create the art group Off the Wall.

When Off the Wall began, it functioned as one-night-only art shows that were entirely self-organized and held in independent makeshift galleries. The informal setting allowed for the shows to blossom into large community events with opportunities for a real conversation between the artist and the viewer.

After much success with their self-promoted and organized shows, the group began showing in various local galleries in 2007, such as Dangenart Gallery in the Arcade.

Although the main purpose of Off the Wall may seem to be presenting their artwork for the public, the group also works as a support network for its members with weekly meetings for critiques and discussions.

Each member works in a variety of different media including, but not limited to, painting, drawing, video, performance, sculpture and installation. Their concepts vary from the idea of personal legends, materiality, intimacy and commitment, and more.

“We do strongly feel that our work is interconnected; we work individually, but are always surprised how often common themes and viewpoints appear in our work,” said Raybin.

Dayton, Ohio, native Dukes received her Bachelor Fine Arts from Watkins with an emphasis in sculpture and printmaking. Before relocating to New York last year, she had received notice in Nashville not only for her art pieces but also as a performance artist.

“I thrive in the arts and my heart swells when I discuss art, art theory and its pertinence in our daily lives,” says Dukes.

Originally from Nipomo, Ca., Luckett graduated from Pepperdine University with a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts, then moved to Nashville to pursue a career as a music industry graphic designer. She began taking classes at Watkins where she met her fellow Off the Wall artists.

She and husband Mike Luckett started Number Walls, a company dedicated to “giving life to as many blank walls as possible through painting.” Their projects include interior, exterior, residential, commercial and large-scale murals.

Claremont, Ca., native Jones received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Watkins and works as a home merchandiser for Anthropologie, a retailer of high-end casual clothing, jewelry and products for the home.

Nashville resident Heilbronn’s drawings and paintings have been featured in numerous exhibits as well as at MammoJam, a fund-raiser for women battling breast cancer.

Chicago native Waskowski entered Loyola University at the age of 16 to study psychology with an interest in fine arts. After working in visual merchandising for Crate & Barrel, she was inspired to continue her education and focus on a fine arts degree, which she received from Watkins in 2005. She uses sculptural elements to communicate personal childhood experience through the sense of touch.

Waskowski currently is the career service coordinator at Watkins, working with the visual arts community to create job and internship opportunities for students and alumni.

Nashville resident Raybin was chosen in 2007 at the first featured artist in The Renaissance Center’s annual Graduate Exhibition, after earning her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Watkins. She currently serves as President of Plate Tone Printshop, a community printmaking studio in Nashville.

For more information on the Off the Wall exhibit in The Renaissance Center’s Visual Arts Gallery Jan. 23-March 14, call (615) 740-5600 or visit www.rcenter.org. To learn more about the group, visit www.offthewallartgroup.com.

Galleries at The Renaissance Center are open 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Saturday and admission 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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