What’s up this week in Charlotte’s visual arts?

Best Bet

There are many great art talks in Charlotte this week, including this one: Independent curator Dr. Jen Sudul Edwards will speak with Morgan Spangle of the Dedalus Foundation at 11 a.m. March 23 at Jerald Melberg Gallery. The talk will be in conjunction with the gallery’s new exhibition featuring works by Robert Motherwell, truly one of the most important American artists of the 20th century. The exhibition focuses on Motherwell’s painterly monotypes, made by transferring ink or paint from glass or metal onto paper.

Who to Meet

Born in 1931, Herb Cohen remains one of the most respected and active ceramic artists in our region. The Delhom Service League presents a talk and film with Cohen at 10 a.m. March 25 at the Mint Museum on Randolph Road entitled “Making a Big Intricate Ceramic Platter.” Learn more about his process, which includes sgraffito, a decorative technique in which he first applies slip (liquid clay) to leather hard pots and then carves away designs to reveal the clay beneath.

Where to Go

Elder Gallery of Contemporary Art offers a monthly talk as part of the Millennial Art Program. On March 27 from 6-7:30 p.m. join me (Lia Newman) in a conversation with Adam Justice about the role of curators, including at academic institutions. Justice, who was previously assistant curator of the Mint Museum is now the director of the galleries at UNC-Charlotte. We hope to give you a better understanding of what it means to be a curator, as well as the role academic galleries and museums play in the contemporary art conversation.

Each week, Grace Cote and Lia Newman offer Observer readers a to-do list on immersing yourself in visual arts around town. Newman is director/curator of the Van Every/Smith Galleries at Davidson College; Cote is senior coordinator at Jerald Melberg Gallery.