Three leading artists in the contemporary realism space will share physical space at the LeQuire Gallery, which will run through Jan. 28.

The exhibit, Contemporary Realists: Juliette Aristides | Alan LeQuire | Richard Greathouse, marks the first time that Aristides, LeQuire and Greathouse have exhibited together. Greathouse moderated a artists’ discussion following the free and open to the public reception at the gallery at 4304 Charlotte Pike in Nashville on November 2.

“It’s going to be wonderful,” says Seattle-based author and artist Aristides, a winner of Fine Art Connoisseur’s 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award and someone deeply committed to the atelier movement. “It’s a mix of sculpture, art and figure drawing, and a mix of subjects between what we are doing. It will give a wonderful comparison of three top painters and sculptors in this tradition and see how all that work can be brought together. That doesn’t happen much.”

The three are seen as uncoverers of trends in the art world based on theory, such as continuum of knowledge, atelier and skill as a foundation, which can be seen as time-honored, as well as trending, movements in contemporary art.

“Someone who works as a figurative painter is working from something live or referencing something that’s live,” Aristides says. “The realist movement differs from that classical, or traditional, style in that these are people working from contemporary sources vs. a nod to art history.”

Aristides says she is excited to be sharing space again with LeQuire, having done a show with him here where they exhibited a combination of drawings and sculpture, as well as with Greathouse, with whom she operates and teaches in an atelier program. They also recently taught together at Italy’s Florence Academy.

“It’s rare for a gallery show to have drawings along with sculptures, because they tend to be more subtle, a little less emotional,” she says. “The work we are all showing here is a fun spinoff of all that, with bright colors and the different mediums. We all know and respect each other immensely, and this show brings all our worlds together a bit.”

The LeQuire Gallery opening will be joined by an exhibition for Aristides and LeQuire at Customs House Museum and Cultural Center, at 200 S. Second St., in Clarksville the same week.

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