New Shows at Grand Bohemian Gallery

Florida native Chase Parker believes he was born an artist. But his creative career didn’t take flight until age 36, when he watched his daughter experience a pivotal transformation. “Without getting into details, my daughter and I faced a very long and difficult situation,” Parker tells Asheville Made. “One day, she found her voice and decided she wasn’t going to take it anymore. It was such a defining moment in both of our lives that I wanted to capture it in a piece of art.” Inspired by his daughter’s metamorphosis, Parker created a mixed-media sculpture of the female form covered in hundreds of hand-cut butterflies. “The response I got from that piece showed me that I was meant for an amazing career in art,” says Parker, who was recently selected by entrepreneur Richard C. Kessler of The Kessler Collection for exhibition at Grand Bohemian Galleries across the Southeast. This March, Parker will bring his butterfly sculptures to Asheville. He will be joined by Canadian palette knife painter Stefan Horik and Leandra Hill, a jeweler known for melting and reforming heirlooms into contemporary wearables.