Is artistic ability passed down through bloodlines?
Art lovers can see for themselves on June 14 when two of Georgia's best-known contemporary artists, Thomas Arvid and Steve Penley, are paired in a Father's Day-themed exhibition with their sons at Marietta's DK Gallery.
In the one-day show titled “Like Father Like Son,” Marietta resident Arvid, billed as “America’s preeminent painter of wine,” will show alongside sons Jimmy, 13, and Christopher, 11.
Penley, the Carrollton-based Pop-inspired painter of American iconography, will be exhibited with his son Lyall, 11.
Located on the Marietta Square, DK Gallery promises special kid-friendly foods and art activities for children during the 2-5 p.m. event.
Free. 25 W. Park Square, Marietta. 770-427-5377, www.dkgallery.us.
Meanwhile, Arvid plans another gallery appearance this month. He will unveil a new edition, "Just in Case," at historic Roswell's Vinings Gallery, 6-9 p.m. June 20 and 21. 10 Elizabeth Way, Roswell. To share talk and a glass of wine with the artist, RSVP via 770-299-1122, viningsgallery.com.
MUSEUM
Civil War-era Medal of Honor donated
A 110-year-old Medal of Honor has been added to the permanent collection of Kennesaw’s Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History, donated by descendants of a participant in the Civil War’s Great Locomotive Chase.
The family also donated written accounts and personal belongings of Wilson W. Brown, a soldier in a group of Unionists who came to be known as Andrews Raiders. In 1862, they stole the General locomotive from Kennesaw as part of a plan to destroy the Western & Atlantic Railroad between Atlanta and Chattanooga.
Brown was bestowed the highest U.S. military honor in 1863 for his participation in the chase. The Medal his descendants donated in late May was a duplicate Brown received in 1904.
In addition to the medal, the family donated a letter Brown received in 1906 from William A. Fuller Jr., son of the Confederate conductor who pursued the Raiders from Big Shanty (now Kennesaw) north to Ringgold, where the chase ended, and a handwritten account of it that Brown penned in 1909.
Ed Ward, Brown’s great-grandson, said the family was pleased that the medal is to be displayed near the General, the Southern Museum’s largest and most famous artifact. “We are gratified (it) will be used to educate future generations about the Great Locomotive Chase,” he said, “and the sacrifices so many made during the Civil War.”
The medal is the second one honoring a Raider the museum has received. One awarded to Sgt. John M. Scott was donated in in 2012 and is currently displayed. The two will rotate on view, but a schedule has not yet been determined.
2829 Cherokee St., Kennesaw. 770-427-2117, www.southernmuseum.org. To read an AJC story on the current Southern Museum exhibit "1864," documenting the build-up to the Battle of Atlanta: artsculture.blog.ajc.com.
VISUAL ART
Fine crafts in spotlight at Swan Coach
The Swan Coach House Gallery recently opened the fourth edition of its popular “Summer Swan Invitational,” showcasing contemporary Southern pottery and other hand-crafted objects. Getting star treatment this year are teachers and top students from prominent pottery studios at Callanwolde Fine Arts Center and Mudfire.
The show features hundreds of objects by more than 40 makers so that, unlike typical Swan Coach House exhibits, buyers can take their purchases home with them. As they do, new works are being put on view.
Through Aug. 8. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Saturdays. 3130 Slaton Drive, Atlanta. 404-266-2636, www.swancoachhouse.com/gallery.
High to exhibit Alex Katz gifts
The High Museum of Art will showcase pieces from a particularly fruitful partnership in the exhibit "Painter's Painters: Gifts from Alex Katz" opening June 14. The show of more than 20 works will feature eight works by the esteemed New York artist.
Katz's works will be presented alongside paintings by a multi-generational and internationally recognized selection of contemporary artists he collected. All but three of the works will be shown at the High for the first time.
Now in his mid-80s, Katz in 2004 founded the Alex Katz Foundation, donating hundreds of works to museums in the U.S. and Europe. The High has received 34 pieces, including 22 by Katz.
High curator of modern and contemporary art Michael Rooks is planning a major major solo exhibition for 2015, to be titled “Alex Katz, This Is Now.’”
"Painter's Painters" will run through Nov. 2. 1280 Peachtree St. N.E., Atlanta. 404-733-4444, www.high.org.
ARTS
Emory selects playwriting fellow
Emory University’s Department of Theater Studies and Creative Writing Program recently announced the selection of Edith Freni as the 2014-2016 Fellow in Playwriting.
Developed as part of Theater Emory’s commitment to creating new work, it is one of only a few existing university creative writing fellowships dedicated to supporting the work of playwrights, according to Emory.
In 2013-2014, New York native Freni was a Mellon Foundation Commissioned Playwright at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company. She presented selections from two new works, “A Work of Pure Fiction” and “Total Power Exchange,” during Emory’s 2014 Brave New Works festival.
Starting in August, Emory’s first playwriting fellow will work closely with the Playwriting Center of Theater Emory and contribute a new play to Brave New Works. She will also teach three courses.
