Saline River News

Large-Scale Tapestries Shine in Heidi Carlsen-Rogers’ Exhibition ‘Glimmer’

PINE BLUFF, Ark. —  The ARTx3 Campus invites the public to a free opening reception for the exhibition “Glimmer” by Heidi Carlsen-Rogers from 5-7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 22, at The Arts & Science Center for Southeast Arkansas, 701 S. Main St. in Pine Bluff.

Top photo: Heidi Carlsen-Rogers, “Glimmer – Daylight,” consists of five 12-inch by 15-inch tapestry pieces. It is part of the upcoming Carlsen-Rogers’ exhibition “Glimmer,” which opens Thursday, Aug. 22, at The Arts & Science Center for Southeast Arkansas, 701 S. Main St. in Pine Bluff.

This exhibition is sponsored by the Kline Family Foundation. Libations are sponsored by MK Distributors.

The set of large-scale tapestries provides a tranquil 24-hour simulated period of what it might feel like to walk through the garden at different times of day with background colors referencing dawn, daylight, high noon, dusk, and nocturne. The whole garden is meant to be a place of remembrance when stress or anxiety takes hold. The garden plants seeds of connection, healing and wellbeing, hope and a new relationship between community and Earth.

“‘Glimmer’ welcomes the viewer into an immersive tapestry brimming with life-size flowers and chromatic color; an invitation to come close to nature, slow down, and be present,” Carlsen-Rogers said.

This exhibition will remain on view in the William H. Kennedy Jr. Gallery through Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. Gallery viewing is free.

Visit the exhibition’s webpage at artx3.org/exhibitions/glimmer-heidi-carlsen-rogers. For more information, contact Kevin Haynie, curator of collections and exhibitions, at [email protected] or call 870-536-3375.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Combining floral photography, tapestry, thread and traditional handwork techniques, Heidi Carlsen-Rogers makes large-scale textile gardens. Using human-sized flowers as a point-of-connection, her work explores themes around the mending, healing and repair of both people and planet, our well-being as a culture, interconnectedness, inclusiveness — and empathy building toward one another, the natural environment and our shared home, the earth.

Carlsen-Rogers tapestry piece “Gather” was selected for the 2024 “Delta Triennial” exhibition at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts in Little Rock, and is on view through Sunday, Aug. 25. The piece received the People’s Choice Award.

In 2021, she was awarded an Artists 360 grant from the Walton Family Foundation and Mid-America Arts Alliance. In 2016, she was granted an Individual Artist Fellowship from the Arkansas Arts Council.

She was selected for inclusion in the 2019-2024 National Museum of Women in the Arts (Arkansas Committee) juried artists registry. Her work can be found in private and corporate collections and select public installations throughout the United States and abroad.

She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Kent State University and worked professionally in the visual display industry prior to becoming a full-time artist.

Carlsen-Rogers lives and maintains a studio in Northwest Arkansas — surrounded by the verdant Ozark landscape where her tapestry flowers are found. Visit her website at heidicarlsenrogers.com.

About The ARTx3 Campus

The ARTx3 Campus is the convergence of art, creativity, and community in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. The campus features three facilities: The Arts & Science Center for Southeast Arkansas (ASC), 701 S. Main Street, and The ARTSpace and ART WORKS on Main, 623 and 627 S. Main St. All three facilities present programming in the visual arts, performing arts, and STEAM education through exhibitions, performances, classes and local partnerships. Gallery admission is free. Founded in 1968, ASC is accredited with the American Alliance of Museums and features three exhibition galleries, an interactive youth activity space, and the 232-seat Catherine M. Bellamy Theater. Since 2021, the modern and multipurpose ARTSpace and ART WORKS facilities have hosted live music, local and regional art, diverse workshops, and small productions. For more information, visit artx3.org or call 870-536-3375.

Support is provided in part by the Arts & Science Center for Southeast Arkansas Endowment Fund, the City of Pine Bluff, the Pine Bluff Advertising & Promotion Commission and the Arkansas Arts Council, an agency of the Division of Arkansas Heritage, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional operating support is provided in part by the Windgate Foundation, Ben J. Altheimer Foundation, Kline Family Foundation, Relyance Bank and Simmons Bank.