For 20 years the , in sponsorship with the Nashville Mayor鈥檚 Advisory Committee for People with Disabilities, has put together an annual exhibit of work by artists with a wide range of ages, abilities and disabilities called Creative Expressions. This year鈥檚 show, , will be up through June at both the Kennedy Center and the Tennessee Performing Arts Center.
鈥淧article鈥� is by Preston Vienneau, a 21-year-old Nashvillian with Asperger鈥檚 syndrome, a developmental disorder that sometimes can affect a person鈥檚 ability to socialize or communicate, but also can gift that person with exceptional talent. Preston鈥檚 talent is making art. While he was a student at West End Middle School in Nashville, his winning entry in a county-wide art contest was featured on a billboard. His work also has been exhibited at the Shimai Gallery, Loveless Cafe, and most recently at the Marnie Sheridan Gallery at Harpeth Hall School.
The original painting is acrylic on paper and measures just 3 inches by 5 inches, as diminutive as its subject matter. The work on exhibit has been enlarged and is a print of the original painting. When asked its relevance to the theme of the exhibit, Vienneau responded, 鈥淓ven the complexity of a modern city can be made up of particles.鈥�