The Umstead Art Gallery
Featuring the Works of Local and National Artists
The directive of the Umstead Art Gallery is to present artwork that visually flows with the permanent art collection, aligns with our theme of art in nature and varies in medium. We look for the opportunity to surprise and delight both our guests, the local art community and collectors. Rotations happen seasonally, inviting creativity into our environment.
Dichotomies
By Frank Campion
Based in Clemmons, North Carolina, Frank Campion creates abstract work that explores the dualities of everyday life, examining the balance between order and chaos, structure and spontaneity. His compositions are built on symmetry and restraint, providing a framework in which expressive, painterly moments are free to unfold.
Campion’s connection to art began early. Growing up in New York City, regular museum visits with his mother and a formative encounter with a Jasper Johns painting at The Museum of Modern Art sparked a lifelong fascination with visual language and meaning.
In Dichotomies, opposing forces coexist across each canvas. As Campion explains, Through color, texture, and spatial ambiguity, the work invites viewers to bring their own memories, emotions, and associations into the experience.
Dichotomies is now on view through April. Artwork from the exhibition is available for purchase in The Umstead Gift Shop.
Artist Reception Details available through our Events Page below.
Inside the Curve
By Jennifer McCurdy
Ceramic artist Jennifer McCurdy has spent more than thirty years working with porcelain, creating sculptural vessels that reflect the rhythms and movement of the natural world. Her work was selected for The Umstead Hotel and Spa’s permanent collection prior to the hotel’s opening, resonating deeply with our guiding themes of art and nature.
McCurdy’s wheel-thrown porcelain forms capture subtle shifts of light and shadow, echoing the motion of waves, wind, smoke, and flame. After shaping each piece on the potter’s wheel, she manipulates, slices, and carves the porcelain to create dynamic movement within the vessel. Many pieces are fired upside down in a kiln reaching nearly 2,350 degrees Fahrenheit, allowing gravity and heat to shape the final form.
Many of her vessels are finished with gold leaf applied to the interior by her long-time collaborator and husband, Tom McCurdy. The luminous interior reflects light outward, creating a quiet warmth that feels as though each piece holds its own internal glow.
Inside the Curve will be on view at The Umstead Hotel and Spa from March 9 through the end of May.
About The Art Gallery
The Umstead rotates new artists' work seasonally into the hotel to complement the permanent collection. The pieces featured in the collection are modern and minimalist, adding to the contemporary, clean design of the hotel.
Guests are invited to take self-guided tours of the hotel's collection with the guidance of an art brochure that’s available at the concierge desk.
For upcoming art gallery openings, please visit our event calendar.
