Three Excellences of Culture: Painting, Poetry and Music, the Work of Art Rosenbaum and Friends

September 24, 2022 – January 14, 2023
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"The Corduroy Road," 2009, Art Rosenbaum, Oil on canvas, 72 x 64 in

This fall the Pearl is proud to present, in cooperation with the Linda Matney Gallery in Virginia, a colorful exhibition featuring the narrative painter Art Rosenbaum; his wife, professional photographer Margo Newmark Rosenbaum; and the friends and former students they met along the way. 

Art Rosenbaum paints images of Southern folklore in richly colored canvases that depict lively figures often dancing or holding musical instruments. After moving to Georgia, Art and Margo met musicians such as Ring Shouters on the Georgia coast, banjo and fiddle players in the mountains, faith-filled singers in African American churches, and old-school blues players. These musicians made their way into Art's paintings as well as Margo's photographs. 

"A typical Rosenbaum canvas is fairly teeming with figures, many of them specific portraits, often including the artist himself," writes painter Philip Morsberger. "Elements of landscape, of architecture of still life (often musical instruments): all are presented in rich detail, but at the same time with bold and fearless brushwork. There is no dead space in a Rosenbaum painting. Something is going on everywhere one looks."

Rosenbaum's paintings are in many collections, including the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Georgia Museum of Art, and the Smithsonian National Museum of American Art. He also plays a variety of folk instruments, and his music will be part of the exhibition at the Pearl. Rosenbaum's boxed set, Art of Field Recording Vol. 1: Fifty Years of American Traditional Music Documented by Art Rosenbaum won a Grammy for Best Documentary Recording in 2008.

Margo Newmark Rosenbaum has collaborated with Art over many years in documenting American traditional music. Her photographs have been published in several books by Art Rosenbaum as well as the New York Times, Newsweek, and The Old-Time Herald. Margo's work has been widely exhibited and is part of many private collections.

Three Excellences of Culture will be featured in both the Main Gallery and the Cole Gallery at the Pearl Fincher Museum of Fine Arts this fall. Among the other artists whose work will be included are Howard Finster, who designed album covers for R.E.M. and the B-52's; Len Jenkin, whose work includes scripts for Family, The Incredible Hulk, and the novel New Jerusalem; Michael Paxton, Bonnie Loggins, Dennis Harper, Kent Knowles, Scott Belville, Dilmus Hall, Tyrus Lytton, Jeffery Whittle and Teddy Johnson.

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Ryan Lytle, "Butterfly," 2022, felt

 The Pollinator Effect
September 24, 2022 – Extended

Inside the museum's Cobb gallery, a mural installation featuring work by Virginia needle felt artist Ryan Lytle will explain the importance of pollinators and their role in the ecosystem. The exhibition partnered with the Paly Foundation to display Pollinators: Little Helpers, Big Results.
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This fall, the Pearl engaged with local students to create an outdoor mobile display of various pollinators. In partnership with beekeepers from Mercer Arboretum Garden we hosted free Meet a Beekeeper talks for students to engage with local beekeepers, see their equipment and learn about pollinators.

To schedule a field trip, please contact Grace at gracepfmfa@gmail.com. Volunteers are also needed; to learn more contact Rebecca at rebeccapfmfa@gmail.com.