The Southern Missouri Arts Connection (SMAC) is excited to host Tenille Blair-Neff in a solo exhibit in September titled Middle Age. The show will run from September 2-30, with the opening reception the Friday evening, September 2 from 6-9 p.m. The SMAC gallery is located at 7 Downing Street in Hollister.
Middle Age is an exploration of the sandwich years of aging parents and raising children. Aging parents need more attention on one side while children need support, encouragement and guidance on the other. It can be a stressful, hard season in an adult’s life, but also filled with happiness. Through this show, Blair-Neff will take the viewer on a journey of middle age as she has experienced it. “My work for this exhibit represents my felt experiences of this stage of life,” she said. “It is a meditation on the past and how we remember those we have lost, as well as reflecting on how we will be remembered.”
For this show, Blair-Neff incorporates an eclectic mix of materials that speak of her past identity as a sculptor as well as collage, painting, drawing, animation and installation. The work builds upon and expands the styles and themes from her artistic journey through the years. She is an accomplished artist who has participated in more than 50 national and international exhibitions. This exhibit will make her fourth solo show. She is also a creative arts therapist, psychoanalyst and professional counselor in Branson. She is inspired by the complexity and visceral nature inherent in our emotional experience.
