Replica of R. Buckminster Fuller’s Dymaxion Car arrived at the Museum today. The vehicle is on loan from the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville and on view through the duration of the exhibition.

Altruistic Genius: Buckminster Fuller’s Plans to Save the Planet Opens Soon

Member Preview: Thursday, April 13 • 5–7pm
On View to Public: Friday, April 14–August 21

Altruistic Genius: Buckminster Fuller’s Plans to Save the Planet brings the inventions and designs of R. Buckminster Fuller to Western North Carolina and introduces visitors to Fuller’s strategies for the sustainability of humans and the planet relating to housing, transportation, mathematics, and engineering.

This exhibition features two major suites of prints by Buckminster Fuller among other remarkable works from his multi-decade career and is presented in three sections: Inventions; Synergetics; and Black Mountain College and Lasting Influence. The Inventions portfolio, assembled in 1981 from Fuller’s career of explorations along with several existent models, represents Fuller’s foresight. In the late 1970s, Fuller published a series of mathematical systems and philosophies to be used in solving problems in all areas of human existence in his Synergetics portfolio. Significant to Asheville, Fuller taught at Black Mountain College during the summers of 1948 and 1949. It was there that he importantly constructed his first geodesic dome as he experimented to develop more affordable housing. More than 30 major artworks by Buckminster Fuller join select examples by artists and designers directly impacted by Fuller’s innovations in art and design, including Jade Doskow, Kenneth Snelson, and Kirsten Stolle, among others.

University of North Carolina Asheville’s STEAM Studio brings to life the designs of Fuller’s Fly’s Eye Dome and Geodesic Dome with student-produced models on view in the exhibition— two designs that transformed the history of modern architecture. Welcoming visitors to the Museum, a replica of Fuller’s Dymaxion Car, on loan from the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville, will be on view in the Museum’s Atrium for the duration of the exhibition.

Join Us At the member preview

Drop-in to Art Break: Too Much Is Just Right featuring Guest Curators Marilyn Laufer & Tom Butler

Friday, April 14 • noon–1pm • Explore Asheville Exhibition Hall, Level 3

Drop in for this Friday’s Art Break and join guest curators Marilyn Laufer & Tom Butler as they lead an informal Gallery discussion about the new exhibition, Too Much Is Just Right, which showcases more than 70 artworks in an array of media from both the original time frame of the Pattern and Decoration movement, as well as contemporary artworks created between 1985 and the present.

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Join Us for a Tea Party at the Rooftop Perspective Café

Friday, April 7 • 2–5pm
$45 Members; $50 nonmembers
Reservations for tabletops of 4 or 6 only

Treat yourself to a social afternoon filled with whimsy and fun while sampling our exquisite, in-house offerings at the Perspective Café. This afternoon tea party features local indulgences from Asheville Tea Company, as well as fresh tea sandwiches, scones, fruit, and pastries.

The afternoon also includes the opportunity to design and create your own Fascinator Hat in our art studio and enjoy a stroll through the galleries.

Pre-registration is required. Ticket includes Museum admission, studio time, tea and accompaniments, and gratuity. Members receive 10 percent discount.

Reserve Your Table

Two More Yoga Sessions at the Museum

Need to unwind after a long, stressful work week? Then join us in the Museum’s Windgate Foundation Atrium on Saturday mornings for Yoga for All Bodies | Yoga for Mental Health, followed by social time with free coffee, tea, and a fresh-baked pastry at the rooftop Perspective Café.

This class features gentle stretching and strengthening aimed to restore the body and mind—focusing on breathing, body awareness, and mindset care. All levels are welcome. Please bring your own mat. Reserve your spot soon; there’s only capacity for 20 participants per class.

Saturdays, April 1 and April 8 (two remaining sessions)
9–10am Yoga for All Bodies | Yoga for Mental Health

10–10:30am Social time in the rooftop Perspective Café

$15 per class for Museum Members

$25 per class for nonmembers

Secure your spot

Adult Studio: Introduction to Natural Dyes with Kristin Arzt

DATE: Saturday, April 22, and Sunday, April 23

TIME: Noon–5pm

COST: $105 for two days

Museum Members receive a 10 percent discount

Two equity seats are available at $25 for BIPOC students

During this weekend art experience, we will explore how to use natural dyes to create a limitless array of colors, hues, and values on fabric. Using natural indigo, madder, and weld, we will create an entire rainbow of colors!

We will dye both silk and cotton fibers and you will discover how to mordant (prepare) these different fibers for dyeing. You are welcome to bring in your own small natural fiber items to dye.

In this two-day course, you will create a color wheel using natural indigo, madder, and weld. You'll learn to create resists on fabric using wooden shapes and shibori techniques and use pH to shift colors. Learn to measure out and start a dye pot based on the weight of fiber. This Adult Studio is supportive programming for our exhibition Pulp Potential: Works in Handmade Paper.

Reserve your spot soon; there’s only capacity for 12 participants per class.

Register Now

George Peterson, Spiral, 2015, recycled skateboard, screws, paint, 72 × 80 inches. Museum purchase with funds provided by David Moltke-Hansen and Patricia Poteat, Asheville Art Museum.

Work of the Week

Spiral by George Peterson

On view in the Windgate Foundation Atrium • Level 1

George Peterson’s approach to sculpture employs destruction as a means of creation. He assembled this sculpture from broken skateboards and burned the surface of the wood before applying paint and iron oxide pigments. Resembling a fossil unearthed from the ground, Spiral conveys a natural symmetry and primordial energy.

The layers of overlapping boards suggest layers of history, as each board represents a distinct time in the life of the skateboarder who originally used and “sculpted” it. One of the largest works made by the artist to date, Spiral embodies the creativity and rebellious spirit of skateboard culture by transforming irreverent actions into a raw yet compelling aesthetic.

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