Our latest exhibition, Shifting Perceptions: Photographs from the Collection, is now open! Organized by the Asheville Art Museum and guest-curated by Katherine Ware, it is a captivating exploration of photography’s multifaceted nature that invites viewers to challenge their preconceptions and embrace the rich tapestry of visual storytelling.   Pamela L. Myers, Executive Director of the Asheville Art Museum, shares, “Our photographic holdings are extraordinary, and Katherine has taken a new look at the national and regional dialogues reflected in the Collection.” About the exhibition Shift ..read more

Richard Sharp Smith is well known for popularizing English arts-and-crafts architecture throughout Western North Carolina and beyond. An English immigrant, having worked at some of the most significant American architectural firms of the early 20th century, Smith arrived in Asheville in 1889 to supervise the construction of the Biltmore Estate on behalf of New York architect Richard Morris Hunt. Smith chose to remain in Asheville after the Biltmore’s completion and would go on to design hundreds of structures throughout North Carolina, with many of these projects constituting important el ..read more

Looking for a fun and fulfilling way to make a difference in your community? Providing group tour experiences as a volunteer educator is a rewarding and wonderful way to share your love of art with students, children, and adults. ⁣ Our learning & engagement staff provides ongoing volunteer educator trainings, which include exclusive previews of new exhibitions and behind-the-scenes discussions with Museum curators, artists, scholars, and other special guests.⁣ ⁣ Volunteer educators are an essential component of the Museum’s education programs and provide an invaluable service in advancing ..read more

George Peterson’s approach to sculpture employs destruction as a means of creation. He assembled this sculpture from broken skateboards and burned the surface of the wood before applying paint and iron oxide pigments. Resembling a fossil unearthed from the ground, Spiral conveys a natural symmetry and primordial energy. The layers of overlapping boards suggest layers of history, as each board represents a distinct time in the life of the skateboarder who originally used and “sculpted” it. One of the largest works made by the artist to date, Spiral embodies the creativity and rebellious spirit ..read more

A key figure in the California Pop art movement, Ed Ruscha’s art is laced with humor and irony because, as he has said, “Art has to be something that makes you scratch your head.” Ruscha studied graphic arts before charting a fine arts course, and he rose to prominence in the early 1960s with decidedly graphic paintings. Art in this body of work depicts a single word, portrayed in a specific font, floating across a colored background. Like Pressures, their enigmatic declarations hover between clarity and mystery, deadpan humor and cultural criticism. In Pressures, nine evenly spaced letters ba ..read more

Pottery by Eugene Since 1986 ceramic artists Rosa and Winton Eugene have created fine and functional pottery that often addresses important topics such as race and climate change. They are still working in Cowpens, South Carolina today. In 2022, the couple warmly welcomed our Curatorial staff to visit their studio and gallery to conduct an interview. The Eugene’s grandson, Zajwain Eugene, directed, filmed, and edited this video interview. Major funding for the Asheville Art Museum’s Object Collections Access Project was provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities American Rescue Pla ..read more

Asheville, NC —The Asheville Art Museum has again achieved Accreditation by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM)—the highest national recognition afforded the nation’s museums. AAM Accreditation signifies excellence to the museum community, to governments, funders, outside agencies, and to the museum-going public. “I’m thrilled and honored by this prestigious recognition,” says Executive Director Pamela Myers. “In 1984, the Asheville Art Museum became one of a select few museums of its size to earn AAM Accreditation, and we have consecutively retained this distinction ever since. I’m so than ..read more

Wesley Harvey is a gay, queer, cisgender man working in ceramics for over 20 years. His work “examines different facets of gay male sexuality and homoeroticism through the lens of queer theory using appropriation of imagery and objects.” Finding inspiration from the Baroque and Rococo periods and drawing from kitsch and pop culture, Wesley designs his sculptures and utilitarian ware with vibrant colors and pattern decals. Harvey’s love of drag queens, gold, and glitter are often used in the imagery especially using the illustrations from 1960’s male physique magazines. Harvey states: “I want t ..read more