Preparations are nearing completion for the opening of artCentral’s 2022 premiere exhibition—VERDANT—featuring the creations of the accomplished art makers of the Joplin Regional Artists Coalition (JRAC). Throughout the Hyde House galleries VERDANT will be on view February 4 through March 12, 2022.
You will definitely be happy when you treat yourself to this inspiring collection of original mixed media artworks! Mark your calendar today and plan to come see and celebrate the art and artists at the VERDANT Opening Reception on Friday, February 4, 6:00 to 8:00 pm. (Weather alternative for the Opening is February 11.) In Carthage, follow Thirteenth Street east across River Street then come up the hill to Hyde House at 1110 East Thirteenth Street. Followin the Opening weekend the Weekend Gallery Hours will be Fridays and Saturdays, 12:00-5:00 p.m., with members of artCentral and JRAC serving as gallery docents to greet you.
What joy to once again showcase works by the talented members of JRAC and to co-create another stunning JRAC installation with artCentral’s prepitor, David Greenwood-Mathé! Our collaborative pleasure of working to honor artists and their inspirations never grows old.
JRAC has made a lovely choice of themes to create the group’s annual collection that is now filling the walls and pedestals of Hyde House. As we navigate winter and anticipate another beautifully vibrant Carthage spring, for VERDANT the show motif is “green”—like artCentral’s green front door of hospitality—like our Missouri lawns and surrounding countryside soon to grow green with lush grass and rich vegetation.
As we await the announcement of award winners by VERDANT’s juror Michele Knight, beyond artCentral’s galleries, everywhere I turn outdoors I am seeing verdant harbingers of spring. They are making tentative appearances as green mosses and native ground covers etching lines in our brick and limestone sidewalks. They are starting to show as hints of lilies-to-come peeking up through the quilts of leaves left behind last autumn. Oh, how I do love and welcome these first signs of new green lives in the making.
Verdant originally comes to us from the 12th century’s Old French “verdure” meaning “greenness, greenery, green fields, herbs,” and from “verd”, a variant of “vert” for “green”, followed in the 1580s by the French “virdeant” which translates as “becoming green; green in color; green with vegetation; fresh green color.”
From the origins of “green” to our modern usage, for me “green” always suggests “growing” and growing is the non-profit business of artCentral, established in 1985, to grow our community of artists and art lovers and supporters as we grow in our mission of service for the greater good of art and artists. Likewise, the Joplin Regional Artists Coalition, founded in 2010, continues to grow as a network of visual artists seeking to effectively engage in cultural, economic, and educational artistic activity.
The memberships of both artCentral and JRAC include professional and amateur artists, art enthusiasts, and patrons of the visual arts. Both seek to encourage businesses and individuals to choose to “buy local” and enrich our communities with unique opportunities to support regional artists.
VERDANT at artCentral offers the perfect venue to view regional art and purchase originals to grow your personal or business collection while engaging with local art makers and their creative, green-themed harbingers of spring!
