Pop-Up Sale Will Offer Art, Rugs and Champagne
Thursday, June 29, 2017
by Kevin Cummings, Messenger Staff Writer
Pearl’s Fine Dining opened in December under new ownership with rave reviews for the braised beef brisket, but on Sunday, July 2, the eatery will boast creations other than culinary art.
From 1 to 7 p.m., Pearl’s Pop Up Art & Rug Sale will display Turkish and Persian rugs from Morningside Rugs & Art in Atlanta, as well as works from Stanford Fine Art gallery in Nashville and Becky Braddock Pottery in Chattanooga.
“Perhaps the concept of ‘pop up retail’ is better known in urban environs. It is just that…it pops up one day and is gone, if not the next, soon thereafter,” said Lucy Keeble, owner of Morningside Rugs & Art. “Robert Tyler agreed to let us use his space as he is keen to bring new folks in for the sale hoping that they will come back one day very soon for dinner.”
Keeble said Tyler, Pearl’s manager, along with his wife Susie, will host the event, which includes free canapés and champagne.
“It will be a convivial affair,” Keeble said.
Lydia Denkler, director of Stanford Fine Arts, said the gallery specializes in American and European paintings, sculpture and works on paper from the 19th century to present.
Denkler has been an art consultant and dealer for more than a decade in New York and Nashville. Her mother, Margaret Woods, and two sisters live in the Clifftops community in Monteagle. She said she’s excited to show gallery selections at her “second home” on the Mountain.
“As the newest member of the (Stanford) team, I bring experience in the planning and organization of a broad range of projects from advising individuals in the creation and growth of private collections to providing curatorial advice and consultations for galleries, museums, interior designers and other institutions,” Denkler said.
Braddock has worked in various mediums, but she said making pots is a special passion.
“My pottery is wheel-thrown and hand-built from stoneware and porcelain clays,” she said. “I love fish and birds and perching them on top of my pots. I never fail to get a rush from modeling a Carolina wren from Carolina clay. I continue to be challenged by the creative possibilities of being a potter.”
A Sewanee graduate, Keeble has collected rugs for more than 40 years.
“I hand-pick hand-knotted Turkish, Persian and Morrocan vegetable-dyed beauties from around the world, be they vintage, semi-antique or antique,” she said. “I offer both investment and museum quality rugs, but also expect my more affordable rugs to stand the test of time.”
Keeble said she plans to bring a variety of smaller room-size rugs, accent rugs and runners to the event.
“I like to encourage people to think of their floors, more like their walls, as large canvases upon which to draw,” she said. “We often look down when we walk about our homes, so doesn’t it make sense that we should put some art under our feet?”
She also plans to bring some intriguing items, possibilities include a rare antique tea caddy, a mid-century Matador sculpture, Turkish kilim pillow covers and flow blue china.
Dede Clements, owner of Edgeworth Inn, a co-sponsor of the event, came up with the idea for the pop-up art show. She is an art collector and promotor, who co-chairs Art for the Park at Trails & Trilliums. Through the Edgeworth Inn, Clements also represents Sewanee artist Bob Short.
Pearl’s Fine Dining is located at 15344 Sewanee Highway.