Local Arts

What’s coming up in Charlotte’s visual arts?

By Staff Reports
This piece by MyLoan Dinh is titled “Courage.” It’s part of the We See Heaven Upside Down exhibition, which opens May 3 at Elder Gallery of Contemporary Art and includes works that focus on immigration and displacement.
This piece by MyLoan Dinh is titled “Courage.” It’s part of the We See Heaven Upside Down exhibition, which opens May 3 at Elder Gallery of Contemporary Art and includes works that focus on immigration and displacement. Courtesy of Elder Gallery

Best bet

Head to Elder Gallery of Contemporary Art May 3 (6-8 p.m.) for the opening of “We See Heaven Upside Down,” a group show featuring work by seven artists. The title comes from a larger project by exhibiting artist MyLoan Dinh, who seeks to illustrate the many different cultures and voices creating work concerning immigration and displacement. The exhibition includes work by Nico Amortegui, Luis Coray, Dinh, Michelle Gregory, Cannupa Hanska Luger, Susanne Roewer, Rosalia Torres-Weiner and Dellair Youssef. Details: eldergalleryclt.com/we-see-heaven-upside-down-exhibition/

This piece by MyLoan Dinh is titled “Boom Boom Butterfly.” It’s part of the We See Heaven Upside Down exhibition, which opens May 3 at Elder Gallery of Contemporary Art and includes works that focus on immigration and displacement.
This piece by MyLoan Dinh is titled “Boom Boom Butterfly.” It’s part of the We See Heaven Upside Down exhibition, which opens May 3 at Elder Gallery of Contemporary Art and includes works that focus on immigration and displacement. Courtesy of Elder Gallery

Where to go

After seeing the new show at Elder Gallery keep exploring South End. The First Friday Gallery Crawl is also May 3 in South End, with many businesses open until 9 p.m. Visit Hodges Taylor to see photography by Amy Herman and Micah Cash. See artists working in their studios upstairs at Dilworth Artisan Station. Be sure not to miss the opening for the new Sarah Helser exhibition at Hidell Brooks Gallery. Helser is a talented portrait artist who beautifully renders people, animals and objects. Details: historicsouthend.com/events/gallery-crawl/ or www.hidellbrooks.com

Who to see

From 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. May 1 visit the Fifth Floor Expansion Space at The Mint Museum Uptown for the opening of “The Noise We Make: The Work of Jan-Ru Wan,” curated by Jonell Logan. Wan incorporates found objects, specifically materials from industrial factories, and gives them new purpose as a part of her sculptural installations. Wan lives in North Carolina but exhibits internationally. This multi-installation exhibition is supported by a show of smaller works by the artist at New Gallery of Modern Art titled “The Residue of Being,” which opens the same evening from 7-9 p.m. “The Noise We Make” remains on view through June 14 at The Mint Museum Uptown. Details: newgalleryofmodernart.com

This work from Jan-Ru Wan is part of “The Noise We Make” exhibition opening May 1 at The Mint Museum Uptown. Wan incorporates found objects and gives them new purpose as a part of her sculptural installations. This piece was made from printed and folded plastic, thread, and rusted metal bells.
This work from Jan-Ru Wan is part of “The Noise We Make” exhibition opening May 1 at The Mint Museum Uptown. Wan incorporates found objects and gives them new purpose as a part of her sculptural installations. This piece was made from printed and folded plastic, thread, and rusted metal bells. Courtesy of Jan-Ru Wan

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.

For a season-long visual arts calendar, go to: www.charlotteobserver.com/entertainment/arts-culture/article217677675.html.

This story was originally published April 24, 2019 at 1:56 PM.

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