You may have guessed by now that I live for art. That includes creating art, talking about art, and yes even dreaming about art. So it should be no surprise that during our travels, I attend many art gallery openings. This particular opening was at the Sozo Gallery in Charlotte, NC for a show titled Grounded.
The day before, the owner, Hannah, along with her assistants, Jill and Caroline, were busy readying the gallery for the opening. We were warmly greeted by Hannah, introduced to her assistants, apologized for the state of the gallery, informed about their relocation to Plaza Midwood, and their joy for being in this new space. The gallery is surrounded on three sides by huge glass windows and had a variety of paintings, photographs, jewelry, and sculptures. We looked around while Hannah told us a little about the artists who would be at the opening and invited us to come back on Friday evening.
Upon arriving for the opening, we were served a glass of wine and entered to hear one of the artists speaking about the inspiration for his artwork. The sculptor then talked about his artistic journey using BBW (Big Beautiful Women) as models for his large clay sculptures. These can be seen in the photos below.
Now, to get back to answering the question posed at the beginning of this blog post, the obvious answer would be to see beautiful artwork. In this instance it would be more than that. It would be to meet the artists, learn why and how they create art, support the artist community, support small local business, connect with people who love art, and to open your mind to new experiences. They welcome everyone as they are free and open to the public. You may find a piece that speaks to you for your home or as a special gift for someone else. There’s an opportunity to view art, learn about the artwork and the artist, and buy art at your leisure without being pressured. Most galleries like creating win-win situations where everyone walks out happy. This is certainly the case @sozogallery. And the wine was pretty good too!