Val Lyle “Blountville Barn in Yellow and Blue”, Detail 2011. Mixed media on watercolor paper. Image courtesy of the artist.
A portion of this project was funded by a grant from the Tennessee Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Val Lyle’s current traveling body of work Sanctuary continues the artist’s exploration about what it means to be a human being in Appalachia. This installation will be in its eighth incarnation of the exhibition. Val will create major new work designed specifically for the environment that the work is displayed within.
About the artist
Val Lyle received her BFA from Ringling College of Art and Design with emphasis on sculpture and printmaking, and her MFA from East Tennessee State University with emphasis on ceramic sculpture. Lyle returned to Appalachia after many years creating and exhibiting art in New York City. As an Adjunct Professor of Art and Lecturer for the past 11 years, she continues to engage in social activism and promotion of the arts. Lyle’s family has been in this area since the mid-1700s. The Tennessee Arts Commission funded a catalog for the project titled “These Truths: The Brutal Tenderness of Appalachia.” Lyle’s work is in museum, corporate, and private collections, and has public sculpture currently installed in bronze, ceramics, and fiber.
Photo Credit: Charlesey Charlton
Additional resources
- Installation Images: Flickr Site
- Val Lyle – Official website.
- Tennessee Ars Commission – Official website.
- National Endowment for the Arts – Official website.