Category: Uncategorized

COOP Gallery is pleased to present work by our new members in Textural Tangents, opening Saturday, December 2, in conjunction with the WeHo Art Crawl and closing Saturday, December 30. This eclectic show includes paintings, sculpture, and photography, and demonstrates the creative breadth of our Artist-Members.

More about the Artists:
Amanda Lomax is a Nashville-based artist who holds a degree in Communications from Boston University, completing coursework in darkroom and digital photography. Lomax deconstructs their own photographs to harvest the fields of color within them. Their work is designed to transform humanity through a greater sensitivity to Color, and hopes to raise our awareness (and acceptance) of others. www.amandalomaxart.com

Amy Hoskins’s photographs range in content from abstract close-ups of industrial metal, machines, and glass — to erotic close-ups of the plant world – to studies of architecture in various cities and vintage cars. Her studies of Buddhism, creative visualization, and meditation deepen this exploration of wonder and fascination, and she seeks a contemplative arts approach to all of her work, as a way of centering, editing, and transforming herself and her art. www.amyhoskins.com

Anna Wise’s paintings begin as a vision that manifests into an elaborate collage of fantasy mixed with reality. The meaning of my art is in the process – transforming chaos into beauty. The belief that all things are possible is the driving force behind Wise’s work. Each painting is a story of struggle and rebirth, every brushstroke communicating something unique to the viewer based on their own perspective. Wise’s goal is to embolden you to transcend your consciousness above doubt and fear – to inspire you to step into your true identity and power. www.annathewiser.com

Bethany Yankie (she/they) is a queer disabled artist based in Nashville, TN. Their work explores themes of trauma, loss, and resilience and focuses primarily on surrealist 2 & 3D collage and assemblage, often with drawings and paintings incorporated. www.bethanyyankie.com

Caitlin Blomstrom (she/her) is an artist and arts professional with a BFA in Painting and printmaking from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. Blomstrom primarily makes oil paintings that represent quiet, mundane encounters, and humorous and uncanny scenes that you might find on a walk or in an artist’s studio. www.caitlinblomstrom.com

Elisabeth Moss is a songwriter, poet, and essayist from Indianapolis, IN now based in Nashville, TN. She developed a love of writing at an early age after falling in love with the Harry Potter series and vlogbrothers videos on YouTube. She currently studies Songwriting and Creative Writing at Belmont University. Elisabeth curates the artwork at Cafe Makai, where she organizes a monthly community and arts night titled Makai After Hours. www.lizmoss.squarespace.com

Hayes Hatfield recently graduated from Colorado College awarded with distinction in integrative design. They are passionate about utilizing science, innovation, and art to promote environmental justice and social justice at large. Their work explores the tension between media, youth, and music, and manifests typically in large-scale abstract collage. They also explore the intersection of these artforms in the short film format. A graduate student at Lipscomb University earning their master’s in molecular science, Hayes often incorporates scientific themes and modalities into their artwork. janehayes.squarespace.com

Kate Blake Giordan was born in the Midwest to a long line of creatives, Kate discovered her propensity for the arts in early childhood. Primarily self-educated, she finds inspiration in both the human form and in nature. Through oil, pastel, and charcoal, she works to capture raw life experience, memory, and ephemera. Giordan dedicates much of her spare time to opening creative opportunities and expanding arts access to all individuals across Middle Tennessee. Kate is committed to being of service to her organization, and its beneficiaries and inspiring others to give their time and resources to their community.

Nija Woods’s journey as an abstract expressionist has been profoundly shaped by her upbringing in the picturesque landscapes of small-town Lexington, Tennessee. Growing up on a farm, Woods was immersed in the beauty of nature, and my artistic soul was nurtured by my grandmother, a talented watercolorist and French teacher. To honor her legacy, Woods incorporates French translations into my art titles, a tribute to the woman who ignited my creative spark. linktr.ee/CreatifMoi.Art Nina Covington is a Nashville-based artist and activist She has always known that it was her job to tell stories. She started out as a model who told stories in front of the camera of others. A pivotal moment came when Nina realized she could only tell half of the story as a model; the other half was always told by the photographer. Nina began wanting more control, so she began taking self-portraits which eventually led her to photograph other people.

Sarah Budeski is a letterpress artist and designer based in Nashville, TN. She is a Designer/Printer at Hatch Show Print, a letterpress print shop in downtown Nashville. In her fine arts practice, she explores identity through the printed word and book arts. Sarah grew up in Montana where she was raised on river and mountain time. The beautiful state encouraged her to stay for college where she received her B.F.A.’s in Printmaking and Graphic Design at Montana State University, as well as a minor in Art History with a focus on contemporary curatorial practices. sjbudeski.com

More about COOP
COOP is a curatorial collective made up of artists, curators, thinkers, and professors who are committed to expanding Nashville’s dialogue with contemporary art by presenting challenging, new, or under-represented artists/artworks to our community. COOP is committed to exhibiting art of diverse media and content, with a goal to provide an alternative venue for artists free from the constraints of the retail market. COOP seeks to initiate a discourse between Nashville and art scenes across the country by inviting artists to show, develop projects, and interact with the Nashville community.

Website: coopgallery.org
For questions contact:
info@coopgallery.org, Sai Clayton, saimuraiclayton@gmail.com

Christmas in the M | A Solo Pop-up Exhibition by TC 

November 25th – 28th | Opening Reception November 25th, 5- 8 PM

COOP Gallery is pleased to present Christmas in the M a solo exhibition by Nashville-based artist, TC. Opening Saturday, November 25th through November 28th, this pop-up show serves as a catalyst for the artist’s upcoming children’s book. Featuring new work nostalgic of their childhood home, this intimate show reflects on the artist’s holiday experiences in their hometown of Memphis. 

More about the Artist

TC is a multifaceted artist from Memphis, TN whose collages and clothing serve as both creative expression and a therapeutic journey. Drawing inspiration from their own childhood, TC’s works are an exploration of their past, seeking to heal the scars left by early traumas. TC’s art invites people to confront their own inner demons, embracing vulnerability and transformation. TC is a 2023-24 State Gallery Resident and currently has work on view at the Frist Art Museum. 

More about COOP
COOP is a curatorial collective made up of artists, curators, thinkers and professors who are committed to expanding Nashville’s dialogue with contemporary art by presenting challenging new or under-represented artists/artworks to our community. COOP is committed to exhibiting art of diverse media and content, with a goal to provide an alternative venue for artists free from the constraints of the retail market. COOP seeks to initiate a discourse between Nashville and art scenes across the country by inviting artists to show, develop projects and interact with the Nashville community.

Website: coopgallery.org

For questions contact: info@coopgallery.org, Sai Clayton, saimuraiclayton@gmail.com

November 4 – 25, 2023 | Opening Reception Saturday, November 4th 1–9 PM

COOP Gallery is pleased to present Tell Me How to get to…  by Alonso Galue. Galue’s interest in what is universally human informs his painting subjects. A Venezuelan artist running from a corrupted system building narratives through art installations, his latest work is a series of paper murals portraying the instability of the mind and the eternal conflict with oneself. Using inexpensive materials to address labor, totalitarianism, mental health, and immigration, Galue’s immersive experiences, influenced by Latin American absurdism and magical realism, highlight the abilities of low-income people as laborers, artists, and humans.

“Plaza Sesamo or Sesame Street was a way to learn about American society as an immigrant – new language, new rules, new system – and consequently, myself.” A puppet is an extension of the puppeteer, and as so represents the various character voices that live within our minds. “I do not aspire to make my art beautiful, but rather to be an ongoing investigation that responds to the human condition.” The oversized paintings of self-portraits fighting with themselves while muppets act as observant, actors, or monsters, made with quick and intense brushstrokes, ask from the viewer not their attention but their empathy. 

Galue aims to connect people deeply with their own humanity and the humanity of others. Honest and visceral, his work alters the spectator’s everyday routine to stimulate questions about being human, power, comfort, community, society, and ultimately our mental health, which are all hidden under the overload of information that distracts us daily from ourselves.

More about the Artist
Alonso Galue (Venezuelan, b. 1994, Chicago Based) is a multidisciplinary artist whose experimental use of traditional painting and sculpture articulates speeches on labor, existential crisis, and totalitarianism. In his ‘Immigrants to go’ series, for example, he uses clay to portray the faces of food industry workers on floating plates with actual food. As the exhibition progresses, the food rots, creating an uncomfortable situation for the observer. Pulitzer Prize writer Jerry Saltz commented on Instagram – Galue’s work is “a strong voice of the future.” and art critique from the Chicago Tribune considered him as the artist that brings the humanity we are forgetting. 

Galue’s work has been exhibited in several museums across Venezuela and artist-run spaces in the US, including the Museum of Contemporary Art of Zulia, Museum of Modern Art Merida, Museum of Miniature Merida, Espacio Proyecto Libertad, University of Los Andes, Void Projects, Agitator Gallery, Belong Gallery, Happy gallery and Elastic Arts. Classically trained, he was Awarded Valencia’s Painting Prize in 2017 and holds a BFA from the University of Los Andes. Learn more about Galue at www.agalue.com or @agalue.

More about COOP
COOP is a curatorial collective made up of artists, curators, thinkers and professors who are committed to expanding Nashville’s dialogue with contemporary art by presenting challenging new or under-represented artists/artworks to our community. COOP is committed to exhibiting art of diverse media and content, with a goal to provide an alternative venue for artists. COOP seeks to initiate a discourse between Nashville and art scenes across the country by inviting artists to show, develop projects and interact with the Nashville community. Open by appointment, Alonso Galue:  Tell me how to get to… will have a final viewing on Saturday, November 25th, 9AM-12PM.COOP is a non-profit, 501C3 organization. We are funded by contributions from our members, and donations from our supporters, and we are grateful recipients of a grant from Metro Arts.

For questions contact:info@coopgallery.org, Theresa Buffo at studiobuffo11@gmail.com

COOP Gallery is pleased to partner with Nashville Design Week in hosting the “Design for Impact Panel”. This exhibit aims to deepen the conversation between art, history, design, and ultimately human connectivity, with text as the common thread that brings impact to each art form.

Through an exhibit and panel discussion, this event will explore the importance of text and type in poster design, graphic design, installation, and visual art. Each panelist likely has a different perspective on what they “design for”, whether rooted in the art, design, or message of their text or maybe the intersection of all three. Regardless of their creators’ purpose, letterforms are always used to persuade, deliver, or provoke a message. Refreshments and snacks are included with your ticket.

5-5:30 PM Risology Club print demonstration of a 2-color Risograph Poster with takeaway print.

5:30-6:30 PM Panel Discussion with Patrick Vincent, Natalie Tyree, Danielle Myers, and Taylor Walton, hosted by COOP artist-member Beth Reitmeyer.

Parking is free on the street in front of the building or there is a paid lot across the street.

Get your tickets here: https://nashvilledesignweek.org/events/design-for-impact/#registerNow

September 30 – October 1 | Starting at 6:30 PM

COOP Gallery is pleased to present Microcinema: A Short Film Festival by COOP Gallery. Microcinema is an experimental film and video festival. This year the screening will take place outdoors at COOP Gallery in Nashville, TN over two nights, during the premiere of Artville.

Microcinema will feature work by independent film/video artists from the Southeast and beyond. The goal of our microcinematic event is to share a range of artistic expressions, cultural perspectives, and critical inquiries with Nashville’s creative community.

The two-evening event will feature screenings of over twenty short films, along with filmmaker introductions of their films and filmmaker panels. Seven awards will be handed out, including the IBFF Choice Award. Two short films, one chosen by COOP and one chosen by the International Black FIlm Festival (IBFF), will be screened both at COOP’s Microcinema and at the International Black Film Festival, which occur during the same weekend. Audience members will also have the chance to vote for one film to receive the Audience Festival Favorite award.

Filmmakers include: Jacklyn Brickman, Casey Carter, Dimitry Said Chamy, Chrimmons, Ellen Allbrey Everett, Max Andrew Fisk, Federica Foglia, Ian Joseph Greene, Cheryl Hazelton, Jonathan Onsuwan Johnson, Tariah Lane, Natalie Martinez-White, Joe Nolan, Heath Schultz, Harrison Shook, Ivette Spradin, Lenore Thomas, Hope Tucker, Cortney Warner, John Warren, Monique Wilhoit, Aram Winter, Tony S. Youngblood.

Schedule of IBFF exchange films:

Sept. 30: Screening of Jahleel and Star by Monique Wilhoit, presented by IBFF

Oct. 1: Screening of Far From the Wheel by Aram Winter, winner of COOP’s IBFF Choice Award

More Details To Be Announced!

September 2nd – 23rd | Opening Reception September 2nd, 1– 9 PM

COOP is pleased to present Temple of My Familiar by Gary White. White’s work shares a multi-ethnic viewpoint highlighting less heard history and figures. Gary’s work revolves around capturing moments of the past and present with inspiration stemming from histories, lifeways, ancestors, tribal traditions, folklore, and religious practices to create hybrid archetypes. These Archetypes become personal expressions of identity, time, place, and lifeways of the old and new South. The sculptures transport the viewer back in time to revisit the past and ponder the present. These characters become guardians, guides, and storytellers. Within them hold metaphorical memory, archived experiences, and wisdom.

More about the Artist
Gary White, a native of Nashville, earned a Bachelor’s degree from Watkins College of Art and Design in 2011. He earned his Master of Fine Arts (MFA) at the University of Tennessee Knoxville in 2022. Learn more about White on Instagram: @gary.white.claygriot.

COOP Gallery is pleased to present HOME by Paula Rivera Calderón. Part traditional
exhibition of meticulous illustrations and part playful experiments with accessible and found materials, Home invites you into Calderón’s inner sanctum. Paula’s paintings offer a slice of both her home life and inner life, with imagery arranged in vaguely sequential vignettes reminiscent of her home in the Puerto Rican diaspora of Philadelphia. Layered throughout is the repetitive reimagining of natural elements that have morphed into Paula’s iconography: dogs and butterflies, suns and moons, plants and rivers, a child’s outstretched hands. Calderón’s mark-making is bold, with contrasting graphic black outlines and blocks of bright color, yet she approaches her subject matter with gentleness.
While her paintings offer suggestions of a narrative, they were made as visceral outpourings from the artist’s reflections on the feeling of home and the comfort she wishes to cultivate.

While her family is her main inspiration for her work, she is also interested in contemplating
nourishment and rest and their connection to vitality. Her combination of hyper-focused and off-focus imagery creates a sense of movement and awareness that our narratives are always happening inside a larger scene. The viewer leaves her work feeling as privileged as being invited into her actual home.

More about the Artist
Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Paula Rivera Calderón (b. 1991) is a visual artist and single parent who works with a combination of traditional (ink, gouache) and accessible (cardboard, found objects) materials inspired by their desire for comfort and home. As a child, Paula lived with her family on a school campus in a deeply religious household, which resulted in their feeling disconnected from their neighborhood and peers. Her social anxiety and loneliness were counteracted by cultivating a complex inner world with acts of constant drawing.

She studied at The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts with a painting concentration, and at La Escuela de Artes Plasticas studying animation. While they attempted to finish their BFA, they left school after becoming pregnant with their son. Their more recent pivot to collage, working with cardboard, paper mache, and murals, stems from their intention to make more approachable, inspiring, and interactive work meant for anyone, but particularly her son and his peers. Their work has previously been exhibited at Chapterhouse Gallery and the James Oliver Gallery in Philadelphia. This is their first solo exhibition. Learn more about Paula at paulariveracalderon.com

Shelby Rodeffer’s Entropy’s Stitch

July 1st – 22nd | Opening Reception July 1st, 1– 9 PM

COOP Gallery is pleased to present Entropy’s Stitch, an art installation by Shelby Rodeffer.
Entropy’s Stitch weaves together the enigmatic world of Masonic regalia, the unpredictable
force of entropy in late-stage capitalism, and the whimsical charm of Southern idioms. Through hand-sewn and painted banners inspired by Masonic regalia, each piece becomes a canvas for a captivating exploration of hope, entropic chaos, and southern culture.

In this exhibition, Rodeffer transcends her previous focus on social critique and embarks on a new entropic direction. Messages hand-painted onto silk and satin banners combine nihilistic thoughts with Southern idioms, creating a peculiar fusion of introspection and humor. As you venture through the exhibition, you will encounter a tapestry of calls to action interlaced with absurdity. The messages, simultaneously silly and thought-provoking, invite contemplation on the futility of life’s grand tapestry. Entropy’s Stitch is an invitation to embrace the disordered nature of our world, to find solace in the nonsensical, and to explore the intersection of nihilism and silliness.

More about the Artist
Shelby Rodeffer is a Kentucky-based artist specializing in traditional sign painting and gilding, handmade banners, murals, and other painted works. Rodeffer has exhibited work nationally and internationally, curated group exhibitions, and created more than 30 hand-painted signs and murals, many of which can be seen in public spaces and on storefronts across the United States of America. Rodeffer is the owner and principal painter of Finer Signs, which has created work for notable clients including Warby Parker, Pitchfork Music Festival, and Coca-Cola. Finer Signs prioritizes opportunities to collaborate with small businesses and local non-profit organizations, through custom signage and public artwork to increase their visibility in the community or through gratis or low-cost workshops for youth, beginning artists, and those interested in the traditional crafts of hand-lettering and sign painting.

More about COOP
COOP is a curatorial collective made up of artists, curators, thinkers, and professors who are committed to expanding Nashville’s dialogue with contemporary art by presenting challenging new or under-represented artists/artworks to our community. COOP is committed to exhibiting art of diverse media and content, with a goal to provide an alternative venue for artists free from the constraints of the retail market. COOP seeks to initiate a discourse between Nashville and art scenes across the country by inviting artists to show, develop projects and interact with the Nashville community.

Website: coopgallery.org
For questions contact: info@coopgallery.org, Beth Reitmeyer, beth.reitmeyer@gmail.com

June 3 – June 24 | Opening Reception June 3, 1pm-9pm

COOP Gallery is pleased to present The Mall, an art installation by LA-based artist Mikki
Yamashiro along with dance performances by Amanda Reichert. Mikki Yamashiro’s installation explores a time before Zoom, TikTok, and Amazon Prime. A time when there was a common place to gather, shop, and be perceived: The Mall. In this body of work, Yamashiro recalls the nostalgia of the 1990’s and early 2000’s mall culture with hand-crocheted pieces that reference iconic logos and familiar brands. Yamashiro identifies the crocheted works as the antithesis of fast fashion, creating a parallel-universe Mall where there is value in the handmade and the imperfect.

COOP Gallery will also premiere ‘It’s hard to stay mad when there’s so much beauty’,
developed by Amanda Reichert in collaboration with McKay House, Joi Ware, & Alex Winer. This piece examines the complexity of our emotional states through the dispositions of four characters living together but separate in their own vivid worlds. Inspired loosely by the work of Brené Brown’s Atlas of the Heart, the characters explore themes of isolation, connection, care, and how the stories we tell ourselves impact our ability to perceive what is real. Performances will be held Saturday, June 3rd @ 7 pm and Sunday, June 4th @ 2 pm.

It’s hard to stay mad when there’s so much beauty was made possible with support from Metro Arts THRIVE, Metro Parks Dance Division, Animata Arts, The COOP Gallery, and DancEast. Entry is free! Space is limited. RSVP at www.eventbrite.com/its-hard-to-stay-mad-when-theres-so-much-beauty-tickets

More about the Artists
Mikki Yamashiro is a self-taught artist, performer, and professional wrestler based in Los Angeles. Working at the intersection of craft, pop culture, and queerness, her irreverent hand-crocheted pieces often use cartoon figures like Bart Simpson, Bevis, and Butthead to highlight contemporary issues. In reinterpreting identifiable products, emblems, and iconography from popular culture through an outsider lens, her fiber practice challenges mainstream culture. Yamishiro envisions a hyper-saturated reality powered by radical energy.

Amanda Reichert is a freelance dancer and choreographer originally from Lawrence, KS. She received her BFA in Dance Performance from Chapman University, where she was awarded the Donna Cucunato Award for outstanding contribution to dance. In 2014 she moved to New York City, where she worked with Mike Esperanza, Suku Dance Lab, Stefanie Nelson Dancegroup, and MersihaMesihovic/CircuitDebris, among additional collaborations with freelance artists throughout New York City and Nashville. She credits them with both the brief and deep influence they’ve left on her own creative process. She has had the pleasure of presenting work for the Young Choreographer’s Festival at Symphony Space and Center for Performance Research in NYC, the Kindling Arts Festival and The Barbershop Theater in Nashville, TN, at Festival Nómada in El Salvador, and b12 Dance Festival in Berlin. She moved to Nashville, TN at the beginning of 2019 to focus on developing her own ideas as a dancemaker, and currently teaches contemporary dance to students at Franklin School of Performing Arts and Harpeth Hall. She is a recipient of the Metro THRIVE program funding for a new project to premiere in June 2023.

More about COOP
COOP is a curatorial collective made up of artists, curators, thinkers, and professors who are committed to expanding Nashville’s dialogue with contemporary art by presenting challenging new or under-represented artists/artworks to our community. COOP is committed to exhibiting art of diverse media and content, with a goal to provide an alternative venue for artists free from the constraints of the retail market. COOP seeks to initiate a discourse between Nashville and art scenes across the country by inviting artists to show, develop projects and interact with the Nashville community.
Website: coopgallery.org
For questions contact:
info@coopgallery.org, Sai Clayton, saimuraiclayton@gmail.com