For Immediate Release

Atlanta Contemporary presents Pasaquan

On view: January 11 - March 11, 2018 

Exhibition Opening: Thursday, January 11, 6-9pm*

ATLANTA—December 13 – Atlanta Contemporary Art Center (Atlanta Contemporary) and Pasaquan are pleased to announce a solo exhibition with Eddie Owens Martin.

Deep in the woods of rural Marion County, Georgia, Eddie Owens Martin created one of the most important works of art in American history. Pasaquan is a seven-acre art environment that features an original farmhouse built in 1885, a ‘sitting room’, a sand-dance pit and a Kiva, a partially buried circular chamber designed for Pueblo Indian ceremonies. Utilizing a mélange of African, Polynesian, Easter Island, and Pre-Columbian symbolism Eddie painted a kaleidoscope of unholy visceral colors that blast off beneath the pines. The site effortlessly pushes and pulsates, if you embrace the psychic powers of the place, it feels like being transported inside of a Gauguin painting. After Eddie passed on in 1986 the Pasaquan Preservation Society did their best to honor what he had left behind. After nearly 30 years The Kohler Foundation, a philanthropic organization, began bringing the site back to life. Today it is run by director Mike McFalls and caretaker Charles Fowler through the management of Columbus State University.

ATLANTA  CONTEMPORARY WELCOMES YOU on the night of Thursday, January 11, to join us for a rendition of Pasaquan’s first opera to be performed at our exhibition opening. “Eddie’s Stone Song: Odyssey of the First Pasaquoyan,” brings together the visual, musical and theatrical arts to portray the life of Eddie Owens Martin, also known as the self-anointed “Saint EOM” and Pasaquan’s founder. Composed by James Ogburn, a resident artist at Pasaquan, the opera explores the self-taught artist’s journey from his upbringing as a  sharecropper’s son to his life in New York to his return to Georgia to create Pasaquan.

About Atlanta Contemporary

Atlanta Contemporary Art Center is a non-profit, non-collecting institution dedicated to the creation, presentation, and advancement of contemporary art by emerging and established artists. Atlanta Contemporary creates a diverse cultural landscape for artists, arts professionals, and the art-interested public through its exhibitions, educational programming, and studio artist program. 

Visit atlantacontemporary.org to learn more. 

All press inquiries, contact: 

Daniel Fuller, Curator

daniel@atlantacontemporary.org

Photos available on request.

*The opening reception will be held in conjunction with Contemporary Cocktails, admission is free – cash/credit bar.