“People, Places, and Things”

The Arkansas Capital Corporation Group (ACCG) is dedicated to helping small businesses and entrepreneurs throughout Arkansas succeed. Arkansas artists are certainly entrepreneurs. In 2013, ACCG began showcasing the work of Arkansas artists in our offices and began hosting open houses open to the public to help support the artists, as well as provide our community of staff, clients and visitors with a chance to be inspired by the art and be able to network at our offices as part of downtown Little Rock’s 2nd Friday Art Night. We are continuing that successful public-artist venture with the December 12th Friday Art Night with works by: Kathy Strause, Taimur Cleary, and Christie Young in a show titled “People, Places, and Things”. The exhibit “People, Places, and Things” is curated by Robert Bean. Whether you are interested in learning more about the many lending products or just need a little visual inspiration, please stop by our offices Friday, December 12 from 5-8 p.m. Light hors d’oeuvres and drinks will be served. The artists will all be at the event to discuss their work, and all work is for sale with proceeds directly benefiting the artist. Our offices are located at 200 River Market, Avenue, Suite 400, Little Rock, AR 72201. Two nearby parking decks, as well as street parking are available. We are at Trolley Stop 10. Additional details about the trolley are available here.

About the Artists 

Kathy Strause

Found photographs are the source material for these paintings. The compositions that are created allow us to be a witness, yet again, to familiar stories through images of our past. By altering and re-arranging the original compositions interesting subject matter tends to emerge. The paintings are almost always of women, from their perspective. These women’s experiences are familiar, the joy, heartache and pain, their lives, their survivals. Part documentary, part naturalistic expression, these compositions give us a chance to examine familiar topics of gender, class and a genuine, shared existence. Katherine Strause is a working artist and educator. She exhibits nationally and has work in many public and private collections. Ms. Strause is currently Chair of the Art Department and Associate Professor of Painting at Henderson State University. She holds a Bachelor of Art from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and a Master of Fine Arts from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville.

Taimur Cleary

Taimur Cleary grew up standing on top of a compass rose in northern Michigan. Indeed, some say he is there, still. He painted as a child, and has found various ways to maintain the habit; including but not limited to undergraduate degrees in painting and photography at Miami University, and a MFA from Pratt institute. He has received a range of grants, awards and residencies as an artist and educator. Currently, he paints and teaches full-time as the Artist in Residence at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. His artistic directions and concerns are informed and fueled by interests in art history, perception, meteorology, memory, abstraction, photography, Gerhard Richter, Phenomenology, Don Delillo, wind, Monet, Manet, circadian rhythms, Mark Rothko, Modest Mouse, his grandfather, birds, Andrew Bird, cardinal directions, atmosphere, his students, the obliquity of the elliptic, e.e. cummings, Bertolt Brecht, reflections, Dana Saulnier, Willem DeKooning and travel… to name a few of the nameable. Taimur’s work is made possible by generous support from his family, colleagues and friends.

Christie Young

As a native Arkansan, Christie Young thrives on the natural beauty of the state she lives in. Developing her skills from their early beginnings during her silversmith training at the Arkansas Art Center, the Little Rock based artist has developed her own individual style of work that reflects the inspiration she finds in the Natural State. By spending time outdoors hiking through the woods, climbing mountains, or paddling on the water, Christie immerses herself in what nature has to offer. This inspiration is then incorporated into her work with silver, copper, and the colorful palette of stones she personally selects. Drawn from the colors, textures, and movement of the great outdoors, the jewelry she creates is formed by hand, bending the metal to her vision and bringing it to life with the color brilliance of natural stones that only the earth can create. The result is a rustic, organic piece of art reflecting Christie’s love of nature. Each creation is a unique piece of art designed to be worn and treasured.

About the Curator

Robert Bean

Robert Bean grew up in central Arkansas admiring the pulpy pages of comic books, learning to draw from the inspiration he found in those yellowing narratives. Taking that early inspiration, Bean honed his skills as an artist in the wonderfully grungy studios of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. It was there that he found a way to combine his love of the story with his love of painting and drawing. Having spent the past 15 years telling his brand of visual stories, Bean has built a career of exhibitions that range from regional to national in scope. He still resides in Little Rock with his wife Maria, keeping his pencil to the drawing board and telling his brand of visual narratives.     2nd Friday Art Night is a time once-a-month when galleries, museums and businesses in downtown Little Rock are open from 5-8 p.m. for an after-hours gallery walk.