Art
In response to the government’s recommendations to avoid the spread of COVID-19, Cheekwood’s entire campus, including the Historic Mansion & Museum, Gardens and all estate buildings are temporarily closed. All public programs are cancelled through April 30 and refunds or ticket exchanges will be provided.
The Cheekwood Collections
The Cheek family collected and carefully displayed a collection comprised of decorative arts, paintings, furniture, textiles, silver and books. Today, The Cheekwood Collections encompasses the Cheek family collection and archival materials, as well as paintings, works on paper, sculpture, decorative arts and niche collections amassed since the opening of Cheekwood to the public in 1960. Masterpieces include the largest collection of William Edmondson sculptures, Andy Warhol and Jamie Wyeth’s portraits of each other, fine examples by American impressionists Childe Hassam, John White Alexander and William Merritt Chase, as well as paintings and works on paper by The Eight, an early twentieth-century artist collective in New York City.
William Glackens (American, 1870-1938). Village on the Seine No. 2, 1925. Oil on canvas. Gift of an anonymous donor in honor of the 2004 Collectors Group
Outdoor Sculpture Collection/Ann & Monroe Carell Jr. Family Sculpture Trail
Cheekwood offers a unique environment in which to experience outdoor contemporary sculpture. The permanent collection features a diverse range of artworks—many commissioned specifically for the institution—created by regionally, nationally, and internationally recognized artists from Germany, Spain, the United States, and the United Kingdom, and installed across the institution’s 55-acre estate.
Siah Armajani (American, born Iran, 1939). The Glass Bridge for Nashville, 2003. Glass, steel on concrete foundation. Gift of Mr. & Mrs. Irvin Small.
Martin Shallenberger Artist-in-Residence Program
The Cheekwood Martin Shallenberger Artist-in-Residence program brings national and international artists to Nashville to create and exhibit site-specific works at Cheekwood, while allowing artists the opportunity to interact with staff, visitors, and the arts community throughout the creative process. With its renowned museum and gardens, Cheekwood offers the Martin Shallenberger Artist-in-Residence a unique resource which broadly reflects nature and sustainability within a global art practice. The residency program provides living arrangements for the artist while he or she are in residency. Mr. Shallenberger’s connection with Cheekwood has great length and significance. In June 1971, Shallenberger, the artist, exhibited 40 paintings at Cheekwood. Visitors who attended this exhibition were afforded a worldly experience with Shallenberger’s renderings of New York, Paris, Florence, Amsterdam, and Cologne. As a citizen of the world, he enjoyed experiencing and capturing the many sites he visited on canvas. Shallenberger knew the world of art had and would continue to expand without borders. The residence program is made possible with the generous support of a private foundation.
Current Exhibitions
2020 Martin Shallenberger Artist-in-Residence Hiroshi Sato
January 31 – June 14, 2020
Hiroshi Sato was born September 1987 in Japan. From the age of three to fourteen he spent his childhood in Tanzania. His childhood exposure to alternate cultures, class, and language has served as a backdrop to his interest in human perception. Hiroshi Sato is focused on contemporary realist oil painting. He is best known for paintings of figures in an interior environment. He draws influence from past and present 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. His goal is to portray, and better understand our various states of consciousness within ourselves through the visual medium. Hiroshi Sato’s work has been featured in various publications such as Kunstenaar Magazine, Fine Art Connoisseur, Juxtapoz Magazine, Visual Art Source and Art Business News Magazine.
Hiroshi Sato, Border, 2019. Courtesy of the artist.
2020 Middle Tennessee Scholastic Art Awards
January 31 – March 15, 2020
For the twenty-ninth 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.
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Upcoming Exhibitions
Chihuly at Cheekwood
July 18, 2020 – January 10, 2021
Cheekwood is delighted to present Chihuly at Cheekwood in the spring of 2020, together with the reopening of its acclaimed Ann & Monroe Carell Jr. Family Sculpture Trail. Chihuly at Cheekwood will feature large-scale installations in the gardens of the historic estate as well as pedestal works presented in the art galleries. Outdoor installations will include two pieces on the newly-accessible Ann & Monroe Carell Jr. Family Sculpture Trail, as well as two new, site-specific works created for this exhibition. A monumental sculpture will be on view in the Frist Learning Center Great Hall.
Opening April 25, 2020, Chihuly at Cheekwood celebrates the 10th anniversary of Chihuly’s 2010 blockbuster success at Cheekwood while also commemorating the 60th anniversary of Cheekwood as a public institution.
Visitors may view the exhibition during the daytime as well as during evening hours on Thursday through Sunday.
Dale Chihuly, Sapphire Star, 2010 © Chihuly Studio
Past Exhibitions
View a list of past exhibitions that took place at Cheekwood. Past exhibitions
Cheekwood’s Riverview Gardens and Art Installation at Riverfront Park
Since 2015, Cheekwood has been partnering with the Metropolitan Government to present a garden and art installation at Riverfront Park. Cheekwood contributes to the overall care and oversight of the garden, maintaining the perennial plants and regularly installing annual plants that mirror the coinciding displays at Cheekwood. For example, in spring, Riverview Gardens features thousands of tulips reflecting the 150,000 blooming bulbs at Cheekwood.