Must-Visit Contemporary Art Galleries in Nashville

The Frist Center is one of the most important destinations for contemporary art in Nashville. Housed in a beautiful Art Deco building, the venue offers a new show every six to eight weeks, busying itself with displaying the works of local as well as international artists working across many media (renowned artist Vik Muniz, for example, exhibited his still life art of garbage materials). At the Martin ArtQuest gallery inside the Frist Center, the visitor becomes the artist – 30 stations are available for onlookers to create paintings, sketches and collages – a learn-by-doing approach that will enrich anyone’s knowledge of artistic practices.

A former family mansion belonging to the Cheeks, who had built their wealth from marketing an especially favored blend of coffee, the Cheekwood Museum of Art’s permanent collection comprises exquisite examples of American and British decorative arts, as well as contemporary artworks by the likes of Andy Warhol and Larry Rivers. Unique to the museum is the 100-acre woodland surrounding the mansion; paths that run across the woods are dotted with sculptures by international contemporary artists, which together form a collection named the Carell Woodland Sculpture Trail. Nine beautiful botanical gardens are also part of the estate, each one characterized by its own arrangement and selection of plants and flowers. The blend of art and nature is a highly distinctive feature of Cheekwood, and makes it a must-visit destination in Nashville.

5th Avenue of the Arts is a group of art galleries located in downtown Nashville. Every first Saturday of the month, each gallery offers a reception or opening for a collective event: the First Saturday Art Crawl. The event is an opportunity for visitors to enjoy a wealth of amazing art in one place, as these galleries are all to be found on the same block in the center of Nashville’s Arts District. The Rymer Gallery is certainly sat the top of the pack; this space boasts a 30,000-square-foot location, and represents young, talented multimedia artists. At the heart of its mission lies the promotion of the artists represented; to this end, the gallery often participates in important national and international art fairs.

Primarily a commercial gallery helping artists market their works to collectors and public venues, Tinney Contemporary also has an exhibition space and presents several shows throughout the year. The gallery prides itself on its unique selection of avant-garde contemporary artists that it brings to the public’s attention. Although it is open to all art forms, it often focuses on painters and artists working with mixed media. Among the gems of Tinney Contemporary’s portfolio are the paintings, prints and drawings of Peri Schwartz, a faithful student of color, light and shapes; the works of Bruce Munro, a British artist who chose light as his primary medium and creates striking light-based installations; and Eric Zener, an exponent of contemporary realism in painting.

Zeitgeist Gallery debuted on Nashville’s art scene in 1994, and over the years has built a reputation as a space where both established and up-and-coming artists are welcome to explore their creative energy. The gallery also serves as the halfway point between the artists it represents and the collectors who will circulate their work. Represented artists include painters, sculptors and photographers. On the side of its visual arts program of exhibitions, Zeitgeist gallery is home to Indeterminacies – a series of events where unusual and innovative local musicians present live performances. Writers, philosophers and critics are also invited to spark a cross-disciplinary and unpredictable dialogue that is sure to offer inspiration at every note.

Haynes Galleries carry the name of American artist and art collector Gary R Haines. As it so often happens with galleries founded by collectors who have a clear artistic vision, the Haynes Galleries are characterized by a very strong identity. The galleries – in addition to the one in Nashville, there are two more venues in Franklin, Tennessee, and Thomaston, Maine – strictly focus on American Realism, an early 20th-century artistic movement that straddled painting, literature and music, and depicted both the good and bad of contemporary American society in a true-to-life way. Over the years, Gary Haynes has put together an excellent collection of works by American Realist painters such as David and Doug Brega, Everett Raymond Kinstler and Peter Poskas.

Located in a two-floor, red-brick building in the heart of Green Hills, the Bennett Galleries is a family-run exhibition space and business showcasing works – mostly paintings and sculptures – by both national and international artists. Bennett Galleries displays a somewhat modest yet still interesting selection of works, and deserves the attention of those looking to enrich their art collection. Worthy of note are James Garrett’s paintings of woods, made with polished Venetian plaster on board; the abstract compositions of Kris Prunitsch; and the elongated figures in Leszek Sokol’s paintings.