Walking tours offer galleries, sculptures
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So you've traveled hither and yon to visit Atlanta's museums. You've checked out the mummies at the Michael C. Carlos Museum. You've taken in the African-American art at Spelman College and Clark Atlanta University. You've wandered through the High Museum and paid visits to the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center and the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia.
You want more, but you'd prefer to hoof it for a while. Here are two suggestions:
Gallery Row: This stretch of Peachtree Road in south Buckhead between Brighton and Palisades roads contains four of Atlanta's finest galleries, which offer an array of contemporary art -- African and Asian as well as American. Kiang Gallery, the one with the Asian connections, favors a minimalist aesthetic. Sandler Hudson Gallery promotes primarily Georgia artists. The spaces themselves are fun to see -- stylish and well-designed.
Not done yet? Move a little farther up Peachtree to Bennett Street. Go down the hill to a welter of galleries, antiques and rug shops, and even a few restaurants, where you can putter the afternoon away. Be sure not to miss Tula, a complex that includes open studios and a broad range of art, from Thomas Deans Gallery's 18th-century British drawings to Gallery Sklo's contemporary Czech glass. Lowe Gallery serves up bold contemporary work, large in scale to fill up its airy space.
The art that lives outdoors: Head downtown, and be prepared for a little hike. The central city is dotted with sculptures that came into being in an effort to beautify Atlanta before the 1996 Olympics. Here are a few:
Folk Art Park, whirligigs and all -- Piedmont Avenue at Baker Street and Courtland Avenue at Ralph McGill Boulevard.
"Through His Eyes," a seven-foot-tall masklike portrait of John Wesley Dobbs, a leader in the African-American community, on Auburn Avenue at I-75/85.
"Five Points," an elegant bronze and steel abstraction marking downtown's historic center, at Peachtree and Marietta streets.
"New Endings," an eccentric fountain that looks like tuberous torsos, at Andrew Young International Boulevard and Spring Street.
Centennial Olympic Park. Though it's dotted with sculptures, the highlight is architecture: the plaza with its elegant light towers (you've got to see it at night, too) and the fountain that doubles as a wading pool. At Marietta Street and Techwood.
-- Catherine Fox
