Special to IFN

The Iredell Arts Council invites the community to the opening of a new exhibit featuring the works of Joan Gardner on Wednesday, May 6.

The free event is scheduled for 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Iredell Arts Council, located at 203 S. Meeting Street in Statesville.

Gardner has spent her career creating work that reflects its time. Sometimes her work is direct; sometimes it is open to interpretation. Since the early 1990s, she has been using floating and falling figures as a signature element in her work, offering space to think about movement, change, and perspective.

She studied at Old Dominion University and earned her MFA from UNC Greensboro. Her work has been exhibited across the U.S. and is held in numerous public and private collections. She is the only artist to twice receive the First Union First Place Purchase Award in Hickory’s annual painting competition.

At its core, Gardner’s work is about sparking thought and conversation and encouraging us to consider the world we’re living in.