A year ago, drawing faculty Craig Drennen moved into a new studio in Southwest Atlanta. Provided with more footage than most Atlanta artists get in a personal studio, Drennen decided to found The End Projects in the front room of his space. THE END emphasizes solo exhibitions of new work unlikely to be shown at other Atlanta venues with a goal of exhibiting of new and challenging work. For the past year, it has hosted artists of all mediums, from painting and collage to sculptural chemical experiments—many of whom are recent graduates of the Welch B.F.A. and M.F.A. programs, and mentees of Drennen himself.
In March, Atlanta Contemporary hosted a stacked exhibition of The End artists in the Project Space, dedicated to non-profit arts organizations around the Southeast. "The End is Near!," curated by Drennen, opened March 12, and was set to be open through July, but when galleries and museums around the city had to shutter, Atlanta Contemporary provided a way to allow viewing online. You can now tour the exhibition space, works hung from floor to ceiling, in a 3-D video tour.
For this round of exhibitions, Atlanta Contemporary invited the artists and curator to share books, writings, and other literature that inspire their practice. The books Craig Drennen has recommended and why he recommended each can be found here.
Artists in "The End Is Near!" exhibition:
Joe Hadden (M.F.A.)
Courtney McClellan
Kojo Ayodele Griffin (M.F.A.)
Marissa Graziano
Avantika Bawa
Cayse Cheatham
Namwon Choi (M.F.A.)
Trey Rozell (B.F.A.)
Sergio Suarez (B.F.A.)
Evie Saleh (B.F.A.)
Emily Tomlinson (B.F.A.)
For more about the curator, Craig Drennen, and his artistic practice, visit his artist website.
Other small-scale, solo exhibitions featuring alumni, currently at Atlanta Contemporary are “…The Road to Life is Narrow and Hard…” in the Sliver Space, with an installation of B.F.A. alumnus Lynx (Nguyen), and the large-scale work, “Black is Beautiful” by M.F.A. alumnus Paul Benjamin Stephens in the Atrium.
