Popular rotating art exhibit features metal prints and repurposed scraps
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (July 3, 2023) – The Summer installment of the “Flying Solo” series at Nashville International Airport® (BNA®) is now open and features the incredible artwork of Debra Belvin, Sarah Bogdal, Carolyn Boutwell, and Marla Faith.
The Flying Solo series is a respected, rotating art exhibit that offers art organizations and gifted artists an opportunity to exhibit their work at BNA each season. The Summer 2023 exhibit, which is open now through October 22, 2023, is a part of BNA’s Arts at the Airport program.
Created in 1988, BNA’s Arts at the Airport is an ever-growing, ever-changing showcase of cultural diversity and creative talent in Tennessee. The terminal and surrounding facilities were designed to incorporate rotating public art exhibits and permanent acquisitions, and opportunities for live entertainment performances throughout the airport.
A brief biography of the featured artists and their work is as follows:
Debra Belvin
“Expressions of the Smoky Mountain’s Environment” (mixed media paintings)
Located in A/B Waiting Area, near The Tennessee Tribune
Link to artwork
Debra Lovvorn Belvin grew up in a home where diversity and creativity were encouraged by her parents. She started her college art studies as a visual design major at Auburn University, which provided a strong background in design. After realizing she wanted to be an art teacher, Belvin transferred to the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, where she received a Bachelor of Science in Art Education. Being an active member of the Tennessee Art Education Board the Tennessee Watercolor Society allowed Belvin to share ideas with other artists, including many contemporary well-known artists.
She created her impressions of the Tennessee landscape, particularly the Smoky Mountains. These artworks have been exhibited and received awards in numerous national and regional art exhibits. In 1996 and 1997, Belvin received national awards from the Council for Art Education for her advocacy work in art education. Debra also received an advocacy award from the Tennessee Art Education Association, and in 2001 she was named Tennessee Art Educator of the Year. Currently, she is serving on the board of the Appalachian Arts/Craft Center in Norris, Tennessee. Belvin believes that those who can do, teach and paint.
Sarah Bogdal
Untitled (Linoleum block prints on paper)
Located in Concourse D, across from Gates D3 and D4
@spaghetti_bolognese
Link to artwork
Sarah Bogdal is a printmaker based in Nashville, Tennessee. She graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) from Watkins College of Art in 2018 and has been included in exhibitions in 14 states since the completion of her education.
In 2022, Bogdal was awarded the Les Christensen Excellence in Art Award for The Warren by the Bradbury Art Museum. She has also participated in several art festivals and maker’s markets across the Southeast.
Carolyn Boutwell
“Voices: Narratives in Stone” (Metal prints and terracotta)
Located in Concourse A, Near Gate A2
Carolyn Boutwell, a Nashville-based portrait sculptor, combines her classical training and figurative style to delve into the themes and passions of modernity. Focusing on anatomical detail and emotion, she enjoins the observer to experience the captured moment in clay.
Boutwell’s artwork has been featured in BNA’s Arts at the Airport, the Schermerhorn Symphony Center (Trailblazing Women), TEDxNashville, Nashville Arts & Business Council Artist of the Week Billboard, and as a finalist in the 2019 juried Portrait Society of America’s Portraiture Competition. Her body of work includes numerous commissions, exhibit works, and live-sculpting performances.
Marla Faith
“Flights to Other Realms” (mixed media bird collages)
Located in Concourse D, across from gate D2
www.marlafaith.com
@marla.faith
Link to artwork
Marla Faith finds scraps and tears up her art, which she then upcycles and remarries into new mixed media collages. Using both visual texture and actual textures, she intuitively moves shapes around, looking for a dynamic harmony. Paints, crayons, oil pastels, colored pencil, found objects, beads, buttons, seashells and feathers all add to create a balanced composition where colors and images dance together.
Arts at the Airport
The Arts at the Airport (AaA) program showcases the region’s visual and performing arts. AaA is governed by a 15-member Arts at the Airport Foundation board, is funded primarily by the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority and receives some funding from the Tennessee Arts Commission. The award-winning Arts at the Airport program reviews and presents works by local, regional and national artists for the enjoyment and enrichment of BNA’s passengers and visitors. In addition to visual art, Arts at the Airport includes live music performances on stages throughout BNA’s passenger terminal.
About Nashville International Airport®
As infrastructure critical to the region’s growth and prosperity, BNA is a vital asset for Middle Tennessee and serves as a gateway to Music City and beyond. In 2019 alone, BNA generated more than $9.9 billion in total economic impact, supported more than 76,000 jobs in the region and produced more than $443 million in state, local and federal taxes. BNA receives no local tax dollars. For more information, visit flynashville.com. Follow us on Facebook: @NashvilleInternationalAirport, Twitter: @Fly_Nashville and Instagram: @FlyNashville. Learn more about BNA® Vision, our expansion and renovation plan for the airport, at BNAVision.com.
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