As part of 21c Museum Hotel Bentonville’s commitment to exhibiting works by both established and emerging artists, installations created by regional artists are featured in the art vitrines on the guest room floors.
Chris Weaver (American) Nontypical BBQ Grill, 2007 Cast iron, mixed media
By merging a grill with a buck deer, Chris Weaver combines a tool for preparing food with a symbol of the food’s source. The deer’s alert gaze and poised antlers immediately confront the viewer, while imperfections and scribbles in the bronze surface as well as the replacement of antlers with grilling utensils reinforce the creature’s passive helplessness in this delicate relationship. Weaver received his MFA in ceramics from Alfred University in Alfred, New York. He currently lives and works in Prairie Grove, Arkansas.
Emma Steinkraus (American) Sundown, Arkansas, 2013 Acrylic and drawing media on paper
Hemmed in by dark mountains, the isolated service station in Emma Steinkraus’ painting creates an oasis of cool artificial light that both echoes and contrasts the warm retreating glow of the setting sun. The uneasy, diverging gazes of the figures, with hands clutching both groceries and one another, evoke a tense companionship as they stride out into the darkness together. Steinkraus studied painting at Williams College. She lives and works in Washington DC.
Liz Noble (American) Heroine Domestica, 2011 Acrylic and glitter on canvas
Perched seductively atop a mustard yellow washer and dryer, the sensual vitality of Liz Noble’s Heroine transforms cleaning supplies into emblems of power, and the laundry room into a vibrant domain, challenging the notion of domesticity as passive subservience. Noble received her MFA in painting and drawing from Louisiana State University and is currently based in Oklahoma City.
