Installation with Ukrainian Flag: Lowell Hayes

In this installation, Lowell Hayes, one of Boone’s most well-loved artists, shares his artistic response to the war in Ukraine. His work typically evokes a strong connection with viewers and enhances and deepens awareness of the featured topic. Hayes is a local artist, with deep roots in Boone and the High Country and is being showcased as part of the Boone Sesquicentennial 150 celebration.

This exhibition has been supported, in part, by a generous donation from Lynn Sharpe Hill.

Related event:
Boone 150, the Town of Boone’s Sesquicentennial celebration, kicked off in January 2022 and continues throughout the year with a series of events and commemorations, including parades, historic walking tours, musical performances, and exhibitions. The Turchin Center for the Visual Arts is proud to honor this important community milestone by showcasing and celebrating artists with deep roots in Boone and across the High Country. 

About the artist

Lowell Hayes was born near old Butler, Tennessee in 1936.  He has a B.A. from Lynchburg College and a B.D. from the University of Chicago.  He has lived Valle Crucis, North Carolina since 1972.

Over the course of his career, Lowell Hayes has made art in many styles and mediums. His work has been shown at The National Museum of American Art in D.C. and has been featured on the show, A TVA Commonplace. He appeared on Charles Kuralt’s Sunday Morning on CBS, was interviewed on NPR, by The New York Times and Art in America.  He has had his works featured on several magazine covers and in dozens of public and private collections including the Tennessee State Museum.

His work has been featured in two previous exhibitions at the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts, including a solo exhibition, The Hemlocks! The Hemlocks! Grief and Celebration by Lowell Hayes in 2011.

Nan Chase, whose work has appeared in practically every regional magazine as well as in The New York Times, is a Boone resident and established author.  She has contributed several literary selections to this project, including a section from a memoir written by her grandfather who lived in the province of Chernihiv Oblast. Chernihiv was the location of one of the first struggles between Russian and Ukrainian forces in 2022.

Nan K. Chase has written for 45 years as a news reporter, freelance journalist, book author, and public relations practitioner. In addition, she has taught writing topics in a variety of settings, including Appalachian State University as an adjunct faculty member, writers organizations, garden organizations, and civic groups. She is author or co-author of half a dozen books, including Asheville: A History, Lost Restaurants of Asheville, Eat Your Yard!, and Drink the Harvest. She lived in North Carolina for 40 years before retiring to southwest Virginia, where she serves as tourism director for the Town of Fries.

Additional resources