Kyle Turco is a Nashville-based artist working primarily in oil and gouache. He lives on the southeast side of the city and is inspired by the vibrancy of Nolensville Pike as well as landscape scenery outside of town. Kyle is a member of the Chestnut Group (Plein Air Painters for the land) and recently participated in the Nolensville Community Art Exhibition at Casa Azafran.

"As an artist, I’m interested in capturing what’s around me. Instead of seeking out the usual picturesque landscapes or sweeping vistas, I prefer to capture the immediate reality that surrounds me, finding beauty and intrigue in the every day of my commute and the neighborhoods near my home. I want my art to be a representation of what I see and experience. Although I enjoy studio work, I’m happiest outdoors with my materials, working directly from the subject." - Kyle Turco

Poetic Happenings for Creativity, Connection, Community

615-837-6487 www.thandiweshiphrah.com

Thandiwe Shiphrah is an artist and community activist who explores the connections between creativity, art making, personal growth, and life enrichment. For the past two decades, she has been engaged in an independent study of poetry’s role in human creativity and its capacity to drive social change. In addition to poetry, she is frequently inspired by items she finds at yard sales and thrift stores, which she alters and/or re-contextualizes to create interactive art installations. Working primarily in collage, and assemblage, her art incorporates personal photographs, old picture frames, vintage post cards, fabric, scrap paper, and her own writings.

"I make word and poetry-inspired art that and explore the joys and challenges of living an examined life and highlight our interconnectedness with each other and the natural world. Many of my drawings, paintings, collages, and assemblages have emerged from experimentations with language and a curiosity about the origins of particular words and phrases. I love playing with letters and words and marvel at their ability to give shape to my imagination." - Thandiwe Shiphrah

"I was born in Cali, Colombia and spent most of my childhood in Bogotá. I remember being mesmerized by the daily activities of an artist from the university who rented a room in my grandmother's house. I felt such joy as I watched him work, and said to myself, “This is what I want to do for the rest of my life.” I was six years old. Art quickly became the purpose for my daily existence. Soon I realized the power and significance of art as a communicative tool for expressing the kaleidoscope of my emotions, life experiences, and viewpoints.

The intent of my work is to heighten social consciousness and highlight the human experience. I am interested in the role of artist as a channel for narrating archetypal stories of cultural and humanitarian significance. I attempt to capture the transitory moments of emotional intensity within the oppressed and the illuminated. Recurring themes emphasize environmental responsibility, preservation of native and indigenous traditions, awareness of comparative mythologies and beliefs, and self-enlightenment. In my work I confront man's external concerns, such as genocide, violence, injustice, and disregard for human life, as well as internal struggles with fear, hate, vulnerability and indifference. Allegorical in nature, my works are inspired by a myriad of global sources, from pre-Colombian art to contemporary schools of thought, regional naïve and folk artists, my own memory and perceptions of warfare and violence as well as ancient alternative ways of experiencing life." - Jairo Prado, Prado Studio

Daniel Arite is a self-taught mixed-media artist who works in pen and ink, collage, assemblage, painting, printmaking and video. Described as abstract, surrealistic and inspirational, his drawings and paintings have attracted the attention of art lovers and galleries. Daniel's works are in many private collections including

Monroe Carrell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt University. In addition to being a visual artist, Daniel is also a composer and recording artist.

"I take an intuitive approach to creating that incorporates found and recycled materials. I also approach it as a game by keeping the evidence of my hand out of the work. I look for different ways to put color on the surface; for example, I try not to use brushes and allow my body's natural movements to determine how I place color and objects on the surface. By placing color and materials in a way that seems random at the time, images form organically and become more concrete through the process. When a sense of balance in the piece is attained this tells me it is finished." - Daniel Arite

Tony is an award-winning caricaturist and mixed media painter based in Nashville, TN. His studies included Pellissippi State Community College (Knoxville, TN) and the Los Angeles Academy of Figurative Art. Tony’s work combines the color palette of observational painting with the linear sensibilities of architectural concept renderings. In addition to attracting collectors across the country, the Metro Arts Council selected Tony as one of Nashville’s “40 for 40” artists as a part of a 2018 Purchase Program. You can see more of his work in person at The Arts Company and online at www.tonysobota.com.

"I use the visual language of construction to frame my portrait of Nashville: as a work in progress. From smaller site-specific studies to larger more conceptual paintings I’m pursuing the question: do we value the process of “becoming”, or just anxiously await the removal of all the scaffolding? You can stay up to date my work on Instagram @tonysobota." - Tony Sobota