The Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft will host “Red River: The Narrative Carvings of Edgar Tolson, Donny Tolson, Carl McKenzie and Earnest Patton,” July 24 through October 9, 2010. This is exhibition No. 9 in the Mary Norton Shands Kentucky Artist Series, an ongoing series of exhibitions which focus on the rich variety and quality of Kentucky art and artists, presented in the memory of our Museum founder. The opening reception will be held Friday, July 23rd from 5:00pm – 8:00pm.

Guest-curated by Larry Hackley, the exhibition will feature at least 10 major works by each of the four artists, for a total of 46 works in all. The focus is on their narrative work, so most of the carvings are complex, multi-figure scenes, including six Garden of Eden pieces by Edgar Tolson. Mr. Hackley’s long-time association with all four artists, dating back to the mid-1970s, made him the ideal choice as curator for the exhibition. An extensive, full color catalog including essays by Larry Hackley and Adrian Swain is available for purchase.

This traveling exhibition was organized by The Kentucky Folk Art Center at Morehead State University, and was funded in part by a Folklife Program grant from The Kentucky Arts Council.

This exhibition is generously sponsored by Brown-Forman and the Arthur K. Smith Family Foundation.