In August 2026, a new collection of sculptures was installed as a third installation of the Campus Arts Corridor. They originate at the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts on King Street and extend into campus along a public art pathway. The concept of the Campus Arts Corridor arose out of a desire to visibly link App State’s arts related venues.
Two of the main university arts centers — the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts, and the Schaefer Center for the Performing Arts, are located on opposite sides of campus with numerous arts related buildings located between these two hubs. The Schaefer Center is home to a multitude of campus and community events, as well as visiting artists from across the region, nation and the globe. Valborg Theatre is home to the University Theatre Mainstage; Chapell Wilson Hall houses the Department of Theatre and Dance; Wey Hall contains the Department of Art; and the Broyhill Music Center houses the Hayes School of Music.
The Turchin Center for the Visual Arts features six dynamic galleries with changing exhibitions of contemporary art works by local, regional, national, and international artists. Situated on King Street at the crossroads of Appalachian State University and downtown Boone, the Turchin Center anchors the arts corridor and serves as a crossroads between campus and community and provides a link to the public art initiatives of the town.
Three Marks of Existence, 2008
Dale McEntire
Saluda, NC
Black steatite stone, cast glass, steel
Artist statement
Finding one’s place in a relationship with nature is the theme of my sculpture. While working with materials such as metal and stone, a relationship between nature and myself is formed. I want to tell stories and comment on my collective life experience and my perception of a collective consciousness. Hopefully, these ideas and expressions will enter into human consciousness and the fourth dimensions.
About the artist
A native of Western North Carolina, Dale McEntire has been involved in the visual arts since his instruction at Mercer University; he has continued to evolve as an artist through private studies in the US and Europe, with training at Penland School of Craft. McEntire produces both oil and pastel paintings and sculpture (stone, steel, glass, bronze) out of his studio in Saluda, North Carolina. He is represented by galleries in Western North Carolina and has been selected to participate in public art events across the Southeast.
Copper Boat Bench (Cooperation Bench), 2025
Corrina Sephora
Atlanta, GA
Forged and fabricated steel, copper
Artist statement
I work with universal and personal themes of loss and transformation, within the context of contemporary society. In my most recent bodies of work, I explore lunar images, cells, and the universe as “a meditation in the making.” Early in my career, I accepted a mentor’s challenge to continue exploring metaphors and imagery of boats. This expanded to the topic of physical migration, then spiritual journeys, and finally to the realization that “we’re all in the same boat.” Lately, the boat has expanded to include the entire universe.
About the artist
Corrina Sephora is a mixed media artist specializing in metal sculpture, painting, and installation who has lived and worked in Atlanta, Georgia for 24 years. She earned her BFA in Metals and Sculpture at Massachusetts College of Art, Boston in 1995. She received her MFA in Sculpture in 2005 from Georgia State University and has done residencies throughout the US and abroad.
She works individually and collaboratively, creating a dialogue with personal psychology and social interest, producing art, teaching, and executing public and private commissions.
A selection of her awards include Best in Show at Annette Cone-Skelton of MOCA GA, and Best in Show and First Place at the National Outdoor Sculpture Competition & Exhibition in North Charleston. Sephora’s work is on permanent display at The Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site, The Atlanta Botanical Gardens, Atlanta Jewish Academy (formerly Greenfield Hebrew Academy), and in the collection of The Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia, and in national private collections, including Elton John.
Freedom, 2021
Adam Walls
Tryon, NC
Paint on fabricated steel
Artist statement
My sculpture is concept driven and is often highly viewer interactive. The conceptual component of my work is often derived from some memory that was stirred by the shape of a memento that I have held onto since childhood. These things bring up thoughts and experiences that challenge me and guide me through the creative process. There are elements in much of my larger works that are derived from my love of fantasy, escapism, and pop culture imagery. My sculpture ranges in size drastically from minuscule to monumental. In whatever way a viewer chooses to engage with my work, I find that it is not always necessary that they understand my concept, rather it is more important that I provide an experience that might encourage viewers to see and engage with art more often.
About the artist
Adam Walls has been creating sculpture for public exhibition since 2004. He received his BA in Art Education in 1996 from Limestone College, teaching art in art centers, public schools, and out of his own studio until receiving his MFA in sculpture from Winthrop University in 2005. Since receiving his MFA, Walls’ work has appeared in Sculpture Magazine, been discussed on NPR and ETV, and has been exhibited in over 100 outdoor sculpture exhibitions. He has been in the Rosen Outdoor Sculpture Competition and Exhibition several times over the years. Walls currently lives in Tryon, North Carolina and serves as the head of the sculpture program at the University of North Carolina-Pembroke.
Soft Step: Lil Rocker, 2013
Sebastian Martorana
Baltimore, MD
Beaver Dam marble (salvaged stair step, Baltimore, MD)
Artist statement
The pieces in the Soft Step series intend to emphasize the importance of home, community, place, and culture. I wish to spotlight the destruction and loss of these things in the course of demolishing the historical buildings and residences in my city and in my own neighborhood. These pieces are made of castoff stair steps of these once tight-knit row homes. I feel that the marble stoops of these buildings are a symbol of home in a sense that is broader and deeper than just a building. However, the loss of this place that fosters so much interaction and comfort with one’s neighborhood is a metaphor for the disinterest in those things that were once held dear.
It is fulfilling to me to at least attempt to make something beautiful and comfortable out of something that has become dirty or ugly or broken or forgotten or cast away. Not every pretty marble sculpture starts out as a pristine block of crisp and sparkling stone.
About the artist
Sebastian Martorana is a sculptor and illustrator living and working in Baltimore, Maryland. For over twenty years, Martorana has focused on the art of carving. Much of the material used for his sculptures was salvaged from Baltimore’s historic– often discarded–architecture. He works on private commissions and commercial projects from his Baltimore studio, which is housed within the historic Hilgartner Natural Stone Company shop.
His past projects include the National Basilica in Baltimore, MD; St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York, NY; Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC; US Senate in Washington, DC; and Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD. His sculptures have been shown in numerous galleries and museums and can be found in prominent collections. He is a faculty member at the Maryland Institute of Art and has been a repeat presenter for the American Craft Council. His work was featured in the Renwick Gallery’s 40 Under 40 show and is now part of the permanent collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Sylph, 2014
Scott Strader
Decatur, GA
Aluminum
Artist statement
My work deals with tension and balance. I try to give each piece a sense of movement. The use of stainless and aluminum are very important to me because of the metal’s sense of permanence. I am meticulous about craftsmanship and the fabrication of each piece. In my current work, I am attempting to hide my welds to give the pieces a look of being poured as opposed to being fabricated.
About the artist
Scott Strader has a BFA and MFA from Georgia State University. From 1990-95, Strader was the assistant to Atlanta artist Caroline Monatgue. He is now the owner of Mercury Metals, Inc. in Decatur, Georgia where he specializes in metal fabrication and art installation, primarily large outdoor artworks.
Don’t Tell Me to Get a Grip, 2018
Julie Slattery
Asheville, NC
Cast iron, steel
Artist statement
I make figurative sculptures in cast metal, which deviate from the expected through missing elements or incorporation of recognizable, inhuman forms. I make my work to heal and process emotional wounds, loss and grief, rage and strength. I incorporate contrasting materials and textures to show the different sides of human nature–soft and smooth against rough and raw. Using metal and fire to create feminine form challenges traditional norms of the material, exploring themes of feminism and empowerment. The casting process itself carries the artist through the transition of one material to another through a series of molds. Each mold opens to a new and changed object which is then perfected in the final piece. This process relates to the ever growing and changing that exists within each of us. The final work invites the viewer to explore their own response–providing permission to be vulnerable within their own healing journey.
About the artist
Julie Slattery is an award-winning sculpture artist based in Asheville, North Carolina. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts with a concentration in sculpture from Alfred University (Alfred, NY). After graduating, Slattery moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico to pursue her sculpture career, where she worked in several bronze casting foundries including working as a metal chaser at the world famous Shidoni Bronze Foundry (Tesuque, NM). Slattery has exhibited her work across the country including Sculpture Trails Outdoor Museum in Solsberry, Indiana and most recently in the National Outdoor Sculpture Competition & Exhibition and competition in North Charleston where she was awarded Honorable Mention.
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