New Exhibitions to Open at Cheekwood This Month

New Exhibits Include Indoor Orchid Display, Student Art Competition, and Japanese Contemporary Artist-in-Residence Hiroshi Sato.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Cheekwood will open three new exhibitions at the end of the month. Orchids in the Mansion, the 29th Annual Middle Tennessee Scholastic Art Competition, and the Martin Shallenberger Artist-in-Residence exhibits will simultaneously open to the public on Friday, January 31, 2020.

Orchids in the Mansion (January 31 – March 1, 2020) Returning for its second year, Orchids in the Mansion features a stylized interpretation of a classical orangery and occupies the historic loggia with large palms, tropical foliage and an array of colorful orchids. The orchids are also displayed throughout the historic mansion and museum and present a series of period room interventions to explore how the Cheek family likely brought nature indoors and decorated their home. Miltoniopsis, Cymbidium, and Phalaenopsis orchids are featured, among others.

Martin Shallenberger Artist-in-Residence Hiroshi Sato (January 31 – March 29, 2020) Cheekwood welcomes Japanese contemporary artist Hiroshi Sato as its 2020 Martin Shallenberger Artist-in-Residence. Focusing on contemporary realist oil painting, Sato is best known for paintings of figures in an interior environment. He draws influence from artists including Vermeer, Degas, Andrew Wyeth, Euan Uglow, Hopper, and Chuck Close. Sato’s work shows his interest in geometric design principles of the old masters and is currently exploring the simultaneous illusion of form and flatness in space.

Sato will be onsite working in Cheekwood’s Historic Mansion and Museum daily between the hours of 7am – 4pm until the show’s opening on January 31. Cheekwood visitors are encouraged to watch Sato at work while visiting the property during normal operating hours. Cheekwood is open to the public Tuesday – Sunday from 9am – 4pm during wintertime hours.

Middle Tennessee Scholastic Art Competition (January 31, 2020 – Mach 15, 2020) For the 29th consecutive year, Cheekwood will join the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers to host the Scholastic Art Competition and Exhibition. Creative, imaginative and talented teens from across middle Tennessee submit works of art in a variety of categories.

For more information about Cheekwood’s exhibitions, visit www.cheekwood.org.

Orchids in the Mansion is sponsored by Cumberland Trust. The Middle Tennessee Scholastic Art Competition is sponsored by The Tennessee Credit Union.

About Cheekwood

Cheekwood is a 55-acre American Country Place Era estate in Nashville, Tennessee. Built in 1929 by the Cheek family who amassed their fortune in part through the Maxwell House Coffee business, the estate was gifted and opened as a public institution in 1960. Today, it features 12 distinct gardens, a woodland sculpture trail, a 7,000-piece permanent art collection, and Georgian-style Mansion with historically furnished rooms and galleries.

Over 225,000 visitors come to Cheekwood annually for year-round seasonal festivals, world-class art exhibitions, breathtaking gardens, and educational and public programs for all ages. A member of the American Public Gardens Association, Cheekwood is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Its mission is to preserve Cheekwood as a historical landmark where beauty and excellence in art and horticulture stimulate the mind and nurture the spirit.

For more information about Cheekwood, visit www.cheekwood.org.

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Press Contact                                  
Caroline Jeronimus
615.353.6982 (o)
615.480.0500 (m)
cjeronimus@cheekwood.org