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From the Lowlands to the Highlands
Written By: Billy Love, The Bascom | Issue: August 2024
Nationally-recognized artist Will Henry Stevens (you know, The Bascom Bridge Guy) and his locally-inspired portfolio will be celebrated at The Bascom.
Following necessary repairs and the rededication of the Will Henry Stevens Bridge on The Bascom Campus, an exhibition celebrating the life and work of Will Henry Stevens will be displayed in The Bascom’s Bunzl Gallery August 17 – January 11.
Curated by Michael Manes, Gallery Director at Blue Spiral 1 in Asheville, From the Lowlands to the Highlands presents works by Stevens depicting landscapes and abstracts from his extensive travels in New Orleans and the mountains of Western North Carolina.
Will Henry Stevens’ life (1881-1949) began and ended in a small riverboat community along the Ohio River, but the years between spent in New Orleans and Western North Carolina were defined by his tireless pursuit of a visual language for his vast creative energy. His enduring curiosity about the natural world, and his belief that there was a purpose – a design – in nature, led him effortlessly between representational and abstraction as he freely adjusted both style and medium to convey nature’s essence.
In this spirit, From the Lowlands to the Highlands includes both landscapes and abstracts capturing the two regions closest to the artist’s heart, the Louisiana bayou and the Appalachian Mountains. Stevens was drawn to “humble” scenes such as log cabins, cemeteries, and the mountaineers of Western North Carolina, as well as the bayou and common people of Louisiana. This monumental exhibition will showcase Stevens’ love for nature, his understanding and proficiency with color, materials, and composition, and how two very different environments shaped the career of a Southern Modernist.
Companion Exhibits exploring other dimensions of the work and life of Will Henry Stevens will be produced with our organizational partners Blue Spiral Gallery and the New Orleans Academy of Fine Arts in the Summer 2024 through Winter 2025.
Andrew Rogers, Executive Director of the New Orleans Academy of Fine Art will be conducting a workshop based on a Will Henry Stevens curriculum in The Bascom studios and off-site at the North Carolina Arboretum in conjunction with an en plein air event organized by Blue Spiral 1, Plein Air Painting in the Gardens & Forest on August 23.
For more information, please visit thebascom.org, bluespiral1.com, and ncarboretum.org.
