CPC Members Katya Cohen & Shaun McCallum show work at Upstairs Artspace in Tryon.

Upstairs Artspace, Tryon’s legendary contemporary gallery, is always looking for new artists to showcase. With this goal in mind, the current exhibit is “New Faces 2021: Artists We Want to Know.” A concurrent exhibit is Postal Artifacts: New Work by Terry Taylor. Both exhibits run from March 27 through May 7 with an Open House, noon to 7pm, on the 27th. Between 4 and 7, gallery visitors can meet and talk with the artists. New Faces features 10 artists who live and work in Western North Carolina and the Upstate of South Carolina. They are: William Asman, Jennifer Bonner, Katya Cohen, Joan Lesikin, Shaun McCallum, Lisa Shimko, Lisa Steffens, Sandy Singletary, Jena Thomas and Carolyn Wright. Some artists are emerging, many are well established, but all have in common the fact they have never been in a regular Upstairs show. There's an awesome range of art for every taste, says gallery manager Merry-Beth Noble, citing paintings, drawings, prints and ceramic art. The show is bursting with color, newness and fun, she adds. A second show features the charming, nostalgic postcard art of Terry Taylor. Taylor collects vintage postcards of scenes in Western North Carolina and the Great Smoky Mountains, which he transforms into art quilts by stitching together the postcards on a vintage sewing machine. The quilt patterns, which are traditional, often include pieces of handwritten messages and cancelled stamps from a postcards back. Taylor is also new to Upstairs Artspace. The Upstairs still asks people to social distance and wear a mask. However, as Covid rules relax and vaccinations increase, we are letting more visitors into the gallery at given times.
Location is 49 S. Trade St, Tryon NC; business hours are Tues - Sat, 12 - 5pm. Contact: 828.859.2828, www.upstairsartspace.org.