Blue Spiral 1 celebrates 35 years on Biltmore Avenue
Blue Spiral 1 Co-Owner and Director Michael Manes will host a 35th-anniversary exhibit in January.
Photo by Colby Rabon
Like many businesses, Blue Spiral 1 Fine Art + Craft on Biltmore Avenue temporarily closed its doors as crews worked to restore utilities after Hurricane Helene. But even during this hiatus, many passersby asked to come inside the gallery, desperate for a break from the unfathomable devastation around them.
“ … Amid this widespread destruction, art has emerged as a vital and beautiful counterpoint — a powerful reminder of what endures and what can be rebuilt,” says Michael Manes, gallery co-owner and director. He adds: “… the need for beauty and inspiration has become more essential than ever.”
With this in mind, the venue will open four new exhibits on New Year’s Eve, the most eagerly anticipated being Context: Celebrating 35 Years.
According to Manes, the group exhibition will feature work by artists who “embody the mission and spirit” of Blue Spiral 1, commemorating the gallery’s decades-long legacy as one of the country’s most vibrant venues for contemporary fine art and studio craft. This legacy, says Manes, can be largely credited to John Cram.
Photo by Colby Rabon
A Wisconsin native, Cram moved to Asheville in the early 1970s and opened New Morning Gallery, a small shop for high-quality crafts, in Biltmore Village. In the 1980s, Cram assumed the extensive collection of modernist Will Henry Stevens (1881-1949). Needing more space for the original paintings and pastels, he expanded to downtown Asheville, opening Blue Spiral 1 on New Year’s Eve 35 years ago.
Downtown was an “odd place” at the time, says Manes. Cram’s immediate neighbors were an adult movie theater and a plumbing shop that exhibited toilets in its front window.
But many other storefronts just sat vacant. Tourism was nil.
Bryant Holsenbeck, a Durham-based environmental artist best known for her found-object sculptures, still remembers when Cram first told her about his plans. “Downtown was derelict,” she says. “But he had a vision.”
In the years to come, Cram would nurture that vision into a reality, growing a roster of top-tier artists such as Patti Quinn Hill, a Weaverville maker who uses traditional weaving techniques to create decorative baskets from heavyweight archival paper.
Hill first exhibited at Blue Spiral 1 in January 1994. During the show’s opening reception, Cram invited her to become a permanent artist. She has been with the gallery ever since.
“Michael and all of the people working at the gallery now could not be more supportive, friendly, and caring,” says Hill, describing the employees as “friends as well as business associates.”
Manes, who began working for Blue Spiral 1 about 15 years ago and assumed part-ownership in 2020 when Cram passed away, considers the gallery’s 100-some artists family. This deep sense of connection is why Blue Spiral 1 began representing creatives on an international basis in 2017.
“We would develop these personal relationships with artists, but if they moved out of the region, we would have to part ways. It was hard,” Manes explains. “When we took ‘Southeastern’ out of our tagline, it opened up so many doors.”
Still, about half of the artists at Blue Spiral 1 live locally and have, therefore, felt the effects of Hurricane Helene. According to Manes, many lost their homes and studios. In response, Manes says the gallery team has “doubled down on its commitment to our artists, ensuring that their voices, visions, and work continue to be seen and celebrated.”
For Casey Engel, exhibitions coordinator, that means working closely with affected artists to showcase their work, either through group displays or solo shows.
“At Blue Spiral 1, our curatorial approach is rooted in celebrating craftsmanship, materials, process, and design, which we take great joy in sharing with our collectors and visitors,” says Engel. “We focus on fine art as well as traditional and contemporary craft, frequently hosting material-specific exhibitions and invitationals in ceramics, fiber, glass, wood, basketry, and more.”
Manes says Context will feature pieces from a variety of mediums, honoring not only the gallery’s legacy but also the role of art in hard times.
“Art has the power to heal, to remind us of our resilience, and to unite us,” says Manes. “As we rebuild, we’re placing art exactly where it belongs: at the heart of our recovery.”
Blue Spiral 1 Fine Art + Craft, 38 Biltmore Ave., Asheville, 828-251-0202, bluespiral1.com. Hours are Monday through Saturday, 11am-6pm, and Sunday, 11-5pm. Context: Celebrating 35 Years will open on New Year’s Eve, 5-7pm, in the Main Level Gallery. The exhibit coincides with Print + Pattern, Vase/Vase, and a solo show by Bethanne Hill. All shows run through Wednesday, Feb. 19.