American Made: Paintings and Sculpture from the DeMell Jacobsen Collection

If you snoozed through art history in college and can’t recognize American Regionalism if Grant Wood’s dour couple smacked you in the face, here’s your chance at redemption. Through February, the Asheville Art Museum is hosting American Made, an exhibition that “beautifully illustrates distinctive styles and thought-provoking art explored by American artists over the past two centuries.” Curated by leadership at The Mint Museum and Dixon Gallery and Gardens, the show features more than 100 pieces of art culled from the DeMell Jacobsen Collection. According to advance press, works range from Colonial-era portraits to mid-19th-century landscape paintings. “Viewers will discover works depicting the United States from coast to coast,” a museum statement reads. This winter, the museum will also present Forces of Nature, an exhibit showcasing the robust ceramics collection of Andrew and Hathia Hayes, two art enthusiasts “who have been collecting important regional pottery and sculpture for decades.” Represented potters include Herbert Cohen, a prolific maker whose handmade bowls reflect mid-century aesthetics, and Andy Smith, a potter who “looks to Art Deco architectural design for inspiration, echoing the intricate patterns and vibrant colors that one might see on buildings like Ellington’s Asheville City Hall.” Forces of Nature closes in March 2025.