“Mary’s Peak,” by Larry Calkins, part of the Wabi-Sabi Show at Gallery at Flat Rock.
“Wabi-Sabi” harkens from a Japanese notion of finding aesthetic beauty in imperfection — that which is tilted, slightly decayed, quietly peeling, spilling its lines. And it dovetails neatly, or not-so-neatly, with the scientific concept of entropy: the fact that everything in nature eventually returns to a state of chaos. Autumn is nothing if not a radiant example of wabi-sabi (colorful leaves = dying leaves = inevitability of winter), and the Gallery at Flat Rock smartly responds with a multi-artist homage.
The gallery has invited some of the area’s top makers to contribute to the theme. The “Wabi-Sabi” show includes pieces by Bobbie Polizzi, Larry Calkins, Carol Beth Icard, Jen Starwalt, Marian Congdon, B.J. Precourt, David Voorhees, and newcomers such as Jennifer Halli. Read more about the idea and the event in this month’s print issue of Bold Life, www.boldlife.com/the-vegetable-struggling, and don’t miss the opening reception happening this Friday, the peak of the season.
Wabi-Sabi opens October 14 at The Gallery at Flat Rock with a 5-7pm reception; the show runs through the end of the year. 2702-A Greenville Highway. 828-698-7000. galleryflatrock.com
