Art ambassadors: Downeast Sculpture Exhibition brings public art to local communities

AYDEN — The spinning silver object situated on the front lawn of Town Hall is not a wind turbine, but it is generating conversation.

The kinetic sculpture by artist Richard Whitehill has been turning heads since it was installed as part of the Downeast National Juried Sculpture Exhibition which formally opened March 1 with a corresponding indoor exhibit at Emerge Gallery and Arts Center in Greenville.

“I’ll bet I talked to 50 people going in and out of Town Hall,” Sarah Lazure, Emerge’s marketing and exhibits coordinator, said of the buzz surrounding the Ayden work, one of two by the Earlysville, Virginia, artist that is part of this year’s exhibition.

Titled “Three Little Birds,” the steel sculpture, the third Ayden has displayed since joining as an exhibitor, also is symbolic of how Downeast has spread its wings. Since its launch in 2006, when only a handful of locations — mostly in Greenville — participated, the exhibition has grown to include some 15 sites, including the towns of Ayden, Winterville and Farmville.

“People understand that value of public art and having a piece of art that serves as an ambassador,” Lazure said.

Displayed outside its community building, Farmville has a second Whitehill sculpture, “Tumbling Dice,” which also is created to move with the wind. The town added a third sculpture pad for the Downeast exhibit last year after making Dave Riemer’s “Bait Ball” a permanent fixture at Farmville Public Library. Folks apparently have also grown fond of Christian Happell’s “Dreamcatcher,” installed at Oliver Murphrey Park in 2023, so Farmville has opted to keep it in place for a second year.

“Part of the goal (of the exhibition) is trying to establish permanent sculptures that the towns can have as part of their collection,” Lazure said, adding that about half a dozen sculptures that were initially part of the temporary exhibition have remained in eastern North Carolina.

Adam Walls, whose sculpture “Memory Bomb” has found a permanent home along Greenville’s greenway, is the artist behind “Radial,” an 8-foot structure installed this year at the intersection of Reade Circle and Cotanche Street in front of Chico’s Mexican restaurant. The circular frame that supports a wooden lounger is expected to be a draw for people taking pictures downtown.

Jonathan Bowling, whose numerous sculpture animals along Dickinson Avenue have become a tourist attraction, has contributed “Dragon,” which will be one of three Downeast sculptures displayed on the East Carolina University Health Sciences campus.

Also on the Health Sciences campus are “Muse #2,” by ECU sculpture professor Hanna Jubran, who received the exhibition’s first-place award for the third consecutive year, and “Whatever,” from Jubran’s former student, Austin Sheppard, who received a second-place award.

“Grey Wolf Return,” displayed at Winterville Fire and Safety, is by third-place winner John Nativo. The Cleveland, Ohio, sculptor is one of three featured artists who are new to the outdoor competition, which drew 79 entries from 28 artists in nine states. Outdoor works will remain on display through February 2025.

The indoor exhibition, which will remain on display until March 28, received 166 entries from 60 artists in 24 states. Juror Joni Younkins-Herzog of Athens, Georgia, a former sculpture professor from Indiana University, selected 26 works to be featured in Emerge’s Don Edwards Gallery.

“Sixteen Over Four,” by Kevin Carman of Snellville, Georgia, received first place; “Furiana,” by Diane Newton of Carrboro, second; and “Propagation Over Destruction,” by Ryan Lamfers of Carrollton, Georgia, third.

“We have almost an equal mix of North Carolina artists and people across the country,” Lazure said. “We’re getting a really nice representation of that national scope.”

California artist Brian Adams contributed “Spoke n Word,” a bicycle wheel with dozens of cards affixed to the spokes with clothespins. Each laminated card includes a mixture of maps and hand-written letters.

“Big Leu,” by Taylor Allison of Greensboro, shows a softer side of sculpture. Made from fabric and faux fur in pastel pink, purple, blue and white, the giant, plant-like creation looks like it was plucked from the streets of “Whoville.”

“I’ve gotten lots of Dr. Seuss references already just from people walking through,” said Lazure, who added that the artist has given permission to visitors of the Downeast exhibit to touch or even sit on the stuffed, squishy sculpture.

The indoor exhibit is paired with “Quilts” in Emerge’s Harvey Wooten Gallery. The exhibit features 11 works of elaborate fabric art by George Snyder III of Ayden.

Snyder, a Charlotte native, moved to Pitt County two decades ago and began quilting during rehabilitation from a back injury. His hand-quilted designs feature patterns and colors from the mid-nineteenth-century Southeast.