What to find in the art gallery hiding in plain sight on North Tryon
A version of this story first appeared in The Charlotte Observer.
Unless you’ve spent time in the Foundation for the Carolinas’ lobby at 220 N. Tryon St., you’ve likely never encountered Charlotte’s largest feline – a tabby cat immortalized on a 7-foot-tall painting, so realistic you expect a tail twitch.
The painting is named “Emily,” after the cat that served as model (photographed above). It’s one of 107 works – Chuck Close paintings, Italian art glass – that populate this lobby that’s also a hidden gem of a public art gallery. But there’s even more: some 350 pieces that aren’t on public view.
When the foundation moved into this building in 2011, it put art everywhere – not just in the lobby, but in the staff offices, where glass pieces gleam on tables and shelves, and also in 17 meeting rooms, each showcasing artwork. A glass mobile spirals from a ceiling. Living art – a wall of green plants – graces an outdoor sculpture garden.
At first, it seems curious – a foundation that gives away money and exhibits art – but it was actually carefully planned. Most works are from Charlotte’s Isaac and Sonia Luski, renowned collectors who specialize in art glass. Their gifts already enhance public buildings and museums in Charlotte and around the country. But they had hundreds more pieces they wanted seen and enjoyed. So when the foundation moved in 2011 to its current location, it renovated specifically to showcase their works.
Though there’s no official curator, Michael Marsicano, the foundation’s executive director, sounds like one when he talks about this art. He obviously loves it. Recently, he gave me and photographer Diedra Laird a tour, pointing out favorites, even unboxing a few pieces in a basement storage room that once held furs, back when 220 N. Tryon was home to Montaldo’s, an upscale women’s clothing store.
Here are highlights, including several works you won’t see unless you attend a meeting or event at the foundation. There’s lots more in the foundation’s lobby gallery, open 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. weekdays.
(1) “Emily”
W. Louis Jones’ 7-foot-tall portrait of a tabby on a pedestal is the most photographed and Instagrammed in the gallery, foundation officials say. It’s flanked by two smaller cat portraits, “Emily Sleeping” on the left, and “Clem,” the orange cat on the right. Says Marsicano: “What I love about the cat is it’s kind of Mona Lisa-esque in that the eyes really follow you.”
(2) “Bag Bags”
These blown-glass pieces, by North Carolina’s John Littleton and Kate Vogel, are outside the main board room, where many local nonprofits often meet to discuss many things, including grant-making. Marsicano likes the symbolism: Imagine these fanciful bags filled with money.
(3) “Vertical Garden”
Perhaps the most unexpected sight in this surprising building, this wall of plants enhances a fourth-floor outdoor sculpture garden. It was designed by French botanist Patrick Blanc, who’s been called the father of vertical gardening. The plants live on liquid nutrients. “When it’s lit at night, it’s stunning,” Marsicano says. The foundation rents the space for events.
(4) “Blue Manifest”
Glass artists often work with molten or blown glass, but this piece, by Winston-Salem artist Jon Kuhn, is constructed from cold glass that he cuts, fuses and polishes.
(5) “Angel Tear”
Marsicano counts this blown-glass piece by Venetian artist Lino Tagliapietra as a favorite. “I just think it’s stunning,” he says.
(6) “Cuartro Mujeres en Azul Fondo Naranja,” “Trio” AND “Quarteto Habanero”
This trio of paintings is by the late Cundo Bermúdez, a Cuban modernist.
(7) “Endeavor”
The mobile, a series of gondola-shaped glass pieces, also by Lino Tagliapietra, hangs in a spiral from a second-floor atrium. “They look like boats taking you somewhere in the sky,” Marsicano says.
Photos: Diedra Laird/Charlotte Observer
This story was originally published July 14, 2016 at 9:00 PM with the headline "What to find in the art gallery hiding in plain sight on North Tryon."