Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Reporters may contact:
Gwen Poth, 704-231-9121 / gwen@gwenpoth.com
Dolph Ramseur 704-262-3469/ ramseurrecords@ctc.net

Scott Avett to exhibit paintings, speak at private fundraiser for The Educational Center; public invited to free gallery show, Saturday, Feb. 25.

January 12, 2012 (CHARLOTTE, NC) – An exhibit of the paintings of Scott Avett, artist, musician and founding member of The Avett Brothers, will take place Saturday, February 25 at The Morrison condominiums, located at 532 Governor Morrison Street in Charlotte’s SouthPark neighborhood. The exhibit, titled “The Paintings of Scott Avett: Exploring Story and Spirituality,” will be preceded by a private reception and fundraiser on Friday, February 24, at which Avett will discuss how his faith journey and spiritual life inform his art.

Proceeds from the fundraiser will benefit The Educational Center, a Charlotte-based non-profit organization that creates resources and opportunities for people of all ages and faith backgrounds who seek spiritual growth and enrichment. Their work involves the use of narrative and its connection to scholarship, psychology, contemporary culture and the arts.

“To me, art is not simply an expression of one person’s idea, but something that comes to life between the artist and the broader community,” said Avett. “Art helps all of us reach for the truth -- in our lives and in our relationships. The Educational Center shares this perspective in its work, and this event will be a chance to keep that conversation going.”

Saturday’s exhibit will be open to the public from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm, with opportunities to purchase original artwork and commemorative posters. Friday’s private reception will include a 45-minute talk and question and answer session with Avett.

“Scott is a remarkable young man with a very old soul,” said Shelia Ennis, outgoing executive director of The Educational Center. “He has agreed to support The Educational Center because he sees the work we’re doing as similar to his. His pieces have a mythical quality that very much reflect our vision and mission, and it’s a great privilege for us to be able to share this special event with him.”

Ennis’s husband, artist Tom Schulz, will curate the exhibit. Schulz is founder of Empathinc., an organization that provides opportunities for the creative community to engage the public in meaningful dialogue about the purpose and meaning of art. Schulz and Avett have collaborated twice before when Avett exhibited his work at the Empathinc. Gallery, formerly located in Charlotte’s NODA district.

Early event sponsors include Charlotte restaurants, Cowfish Sushi Burger Bar in the SouthPark neighborhood, The Fig Tree Restaurant, and Carpe Diem in Elizabeth, Fran’s Filling Station near Dilworth, The Glass House at FABO Café in Myers Park, and Earth Fare at Morrison. A special thank you to Madison Marquette for its in-kind donation, a spacious condominium located in SouthPark’s mixed-use development, Morrison.

For more information about this event, its organizers and sponsors, go to www.artstoryspirit.com.

About Scott Avett

Scott Avett, fine artist, musician and founding member of The Avett Brothers, was born in 1976 in Cheyenne, Wyoming and raised in the Piedmont of North Carolina. Avett began his painting career in 1999, when he attended East Carolina University and studied under the direction of painter Leland Wallin. There, he also studied printmaking with Michael Elhbeck. The encouragement of these mentors led Avett to complete both a BA in communications, as well as a BFA in painting.

Avett embraces the idea of artist and art in continual motion and spends almost as much time creating on the road as he does in the studio. A friend once called Avett an “Artist Hobo,” comparing his manner of producing art to the way the iconic figures from the early twentieth-century would move from place to place for work. His goal is to change methods with each new piece, believing that a small shift in technique – one less layer of paint, a thinner glaze – can create exceptional results.

Religious archetypes and stories are common themes for Avett, as are the people and places he encounters in his travels. He is drawn to figurative work and finds portraits to be the most intimate, and most immediate, form of personal narrative. He prefers to work with subjects he knows well and can work with over time, and his self-portraits reflect his comfort with a subject he calls “loyal” and “the most accessible.” In every work, Avett seeks to capture both the physicality of his subject, as well as his or her emotional life – the strengths and weaknesses, fears and phobias, and moments of courage he feels people must recognize in themselves, and in one another.

Avett’s work has appeared at the Envoy Gallery in New York City, the Lee Hansley Gallery in Raleigh, the Center for Faith & the Arts in Salisbury, NC, as well as at the Empathinc. Gallery, formerly located in the NODA arts district of Charlotte. His studio is located in his hometown of Concord, NC, where he briefly owned his own gallery. For more information about Scott Avett, go to www.scottavett.com.

About The Educational Center

Founded in 1843, The Educational Center is a non-profit, 501-C3 organization that creates instructional materials and educational opportunities for both youth and adults. Its community of educators, writers, artists and researchers create and present workshops, film series, and retreats for those seeking spiritual growth and enrichment. The Center also publishes lectionary-based resources, such as Bible Workbench and TeenText, which have been used by Christian educators all over the country for more than 20 years. For more information about The Educational Center, go to www.educationalcenter.org.

About Empathinc.

Empathinc., founded in 2001 by artist Tom Schulz, is concerned with art as dialogue. It presents opportunities for the community to engage, both online and in person, in meaningful discourse about the collaborative and transformative qualities of art. It also promotes the idea of specific, fair exchange between artist and audience and explores those areas where art and business overlap. From 2003-2006, Empathinc. operated as a gallery and studio space in Charlotte, NC, where Schulz curated two art shows by Scott Avett, one in 2004 and another in 2005. For more information about Empathinc., go to www.Empathinc.com.

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