Renaissance Center to display works of ‘Grumpy Old Man’ Hunt

Release Date: 2/20/2004. Expired: 3/27/2004

The Renaissance Center will feature a collection of artwork by Brentwood artist B.H. Hunt in a March 6-27 display along the center’s east wing.

The retrospective will feature 21 of Hunt’s paintings “demonstrating the artist’s realistic rendition of rural Tennessee landscapes,” according to Curtis Southerland, curator for The Renaissance Center in Dickson.

A reception marking the opening of the exhibit will be 2-4 p.m. March 6. The reception and exhibit are free and open to the public.

For nine years, Hunt has been a member of a men’s art group that meets every Tuesday at the Tennessee Art League near Centennial Park in Nashville. Finding the official designation of the Tennessee Art League Men’s Tuesday Painting Group too bland, the members voted to work under the moniker of Grumpy Old Men.

Their membership has grown to 14 members, all ranging in age from mid-70s to 80s, and the weekly sessions are an experience in themselves as barbs and jibes fly with practically every brush stroke.

“They are a pretty nice bunch of guys, when they’re behaving themselves,” said Claire Weber, president of the Tennessee Art League and Gallery in a 1999 story about the group in The Tennessean.

The group started when Hunt and Walter Benneyworth met in the watercolor section of an art supply store. Discussions about the fact that the men were the minority in just about every art group around eventually led to the formation of the all-male group.

Most members see art as a hobby and took it up after retirement. The Tuesday morning sessions are as much about spending some time with the guys as they are about painting. Most of the work is watercolor, with some acrylic, and the level of painting skills varies widely.

The group has had a few exhibits in the Tennessee Art League’s gallery, where the focus is more on the fun than selling paintings.

The exhibit in the east wing of The Renaissance Center marks Hunt’s first solo exhibit of his works.

“Mr. Hunt and his group are an example of how art can bridge gaps between people who otherwise would have very little in common,” Southerland said. “We are pleased to be able to display his paintings as part of our effort to utilize not just our Visual Arts Gallery but all available space at the center to provide exhibit opportunities for established and new artists.”

For more information on the Hunt exhibit as well as other art exhibits at The Renaissance Center, contact Southerland at (615)740-5519.

The Renaissance Center is an arts and technology 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.

News

Date Released	Expiration	Headline
No Press Releases to show...