Chapman-Crane painting exhibition now showing in Appalachian Center Gallery at Cumberland

Paintings by renowned Appalachian artist Jeff Chapman-Crane are currently on display in the gallery of the Godbey Appalachian Center located on the Cumberland campus of Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College. Works by Chapman-Cane, a resident of Eolia in Letcher County, will be on display through April 11 from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

An reception for the artist will be held on Saturday, Feb. 8 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. and from 2-5 p.m. on Feb. 9. At 3 p.m. on the 9th, he will host a discussion of his work.

Chapman-Crane is a full-time professional artist from the Appalachian Mountains of eastern Kentucky, where he has lived and practiced his art for more than 20 years. His art focuses on the culture of Appalachia, with an emphasis on portraits of mountain people. His work has been featured in American Artist Magazine, and he is a four-time finalist in the publications annual portraiture competition.

Additionally, he illustrated a childrens book Ragsale which won Best In Show at the 1995 New England Book Fair. He has also received several major awards during previous Virginia Highlands Festival Juried Fine Art Shows. His work is represented by prestigious galleries in New York City and Cincinnati.

Together with his wife, Sharman, and son, Evan, he operates the Valley of the Winds Art Gallery in Eolia where works by all three family members can be seen.

The curator of the exhibit at Southeast is Clara Atkins-Pope, working in concert with Larry Lafollette and Alexia Ault.

Atkins-Pope noted the exhibition is most remarkable and should be seen by as many as possible. Jeffs works have always taken my inner sight to levels of higher experience, she said. He is able to capture with paint on canvas the embodiment of spirit and grace, bringing to life his subjects inner substance. His work makes one breathe in deeply and sigh with satisfaction: He captures beauty.

For additional information about the exhibition or the reception phone 606/589-3131.