HMA's exhibits are always a mix of art that the Museum owns and art that we borrow. “Woven Together: From Lesotho to Carolina” is a borrowed exhibition that will be at HMA from May 23 to September 6, 2015.

The exhibit features tapestries woven by the Maseru Tapestries Cooperative in Lesotho, Africa, in addition to works by two Carolinas artists and one photographer.

When Jacob Lawrence died in Seattle in 2000, the New York Times described him as "One of America's leading modern figurative painters" and "among the most impassioned visual chroniclers of the African-American experience." His North Carolina connection was his first teaching job, at Black Mountain College in 1946, after having served in the U.S.Navy recording in paint the life on board the first integrated ship in the naval services during World War II.

Immigrant to North Carolina José Augustín Fumero once said that “My work is called woven fiber mosaics. I find that working with a woven grid, an image can be seen through many facets. … I think and create on many levels, combining the [vertical] warp (used as a platform for the beginning expression of an idea) and the [horizontal] weft (used to expand the ramifications of the original expression) to create a complete piece.” To create Saint Harley of Davidson, Fumero imagined ...

At a 2005 exhibit at Charlotte's Modern Eye Gallery, he was described as "renowned for his previous work in watercolor, for which he has been awarded many honors. In this current body of work, he turns his expression to collage, and crafts energy-filled canvases of color, light, and texture. His work is reminiscent of delicate Japanese-inspired textiles."

In 1939, before the Museum was established, Paul Whitener was commissioned by former Hickory Mayor Phillip J. Suttlemyre (1937-1938) to paint his 9 year old son Charles, which he did charmingly. Years later, in the spring of 1960, on Friday May 13th the headlines of the Hickory Daily Record read “Mentally Ill Son Charged in Matricide.” Charles G. Suttlemyer was said to have admitted killing his mother by bludgeoning her with a souvenir tomahawk.

Most of Ab the Flagman's creations are freedom symbols like the Statue of Liberty, eagles, faces of U.S. Presidents and of course, the flag. He is one of the artists featured in HMA's exhibition New Horizons: Self-Taught Art in The 21st Century (September 23, 2017 - January 7, 2018).

There are many aspects to putting together an exhibition, many people and things that have to work together from inception to opening and even beyond (think events and educational offerings). Placing all that carefully selected art is an art in itself, while taking it down is an exercise in care. Both involve physical labor along with creativity.

With our new blog, we hope to give you a flavor of how the Museum works, who our staff and many volunteers are and what they do, and who visits us physically or in other ways. And, we will sample what we have in our collection,

It is part of my responsibilities as Project Coordinator on the staff to put together our blog posts. So what are my qualifications? And what are those photos about?

Jane Peterson’s ambition was to be judged not as a woman but as a painter, and this she achieved. She became famous for a wide range of works from landscapes to still-lives. The Windowseat is typical of Peterson’s adaptation of American Impressionism. It is a perennial favorite of our Museum visitors.

Charlotte, NC painter Romare Bearden (1911-1988) was another of HMA's artists who served in WWII. His experience of service was an example of the continuing effects of racial discrimination in the United States, even during war. He joined the United States Army in 1942 and served until 1945 in the (all-black) 372nd Infantry Division of the 15th Regiment.He is pictured in uniform and later with his cat.