Gadsden, AL – The Gadsden Museum of Art will host openings for exhibits by Baggs McKelvey, Kris Catoe, the Shelby County Photography Club and STofART UAB this Friday, Feb. 2, 2024, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Light refreshments will be served.

Artist Baggs McKelvey’s work, “Beyond Indigo,” can be seen in the first floor Piano and Courtyard Galleries. McKelvey holds a BFA from the University of Georgia and MFA from Southern Illinois University Carbondale. She is primarily interested in using discarded, mass-produced, and crowd-sourced materials to create installations, sculptures, and mixed media artworks.

“Beyond Indigo” is a denim installation that is site-specific, responding to the architecture of the exhibition space and defined by contour lines sourced from aerial photos and maps of the surrounding land or cityscape. The denim is pulled tight between the walls of the space, tracing the contours of each line, creating a dynamic form.

Local artist Kris Catoe will be featured in the first floor Leo Reynolds Gallery. Kris grew up in a creative home. He began finding his voice of expression in 1987. Today, he reaches into all types of art to learn, stretch and grow.

His paintings, murals and assemblages tell the stories from the beautiful life he sees all around. The body of work created for “Mixtape Future” speaks from the different seasons in the life of the artist.

STofART is a juried exhibition of current and recent graduates from the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Department of Art and Art History. The exhibition simultaneously serves as a recruitment tool as well as excellent training for students developing professional practices beyond the classroom/studio. This show can be seen on the second floor in the Barbara Reed Gallery.

The Shelby County Camera Club will also be displayed in our hallway gallery. Fifteen photographers will be participating in this show of black and white and color photography of diverse subjects.