CLEASTER COTTON: After the Storm
Cleaster Cotton: After the Storm
on view at Sawtooth’s Redding Corridor Gallery
Saturday, January 11 – Saturday, February 8, 2025
In her solo exhibition After the Storm, Asheville-based artist Cleaster Cotton showcases early self-portraits alongside new poetic reflections chronicling the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene. This once-in-a-century storm significantly damaged and impacted much of western North Carolina and Asheville’s River Arts District, where Cotton lives and works.
After the Storm is on view at Sawtooth School for Visual Art’s Redding Corridor Gallery. Located at 251 N. Spruce Street, Sawtooth is open Monday to Friday from 9 am to 7 pm and on Saturdays from 9 am to 4 pm. Sawtooth would like to thank Stewart Knight and Red Dog Gallery for their support of this exhibition.
From the artist:
Hurricane Helene caused catastrophic devastation to eighty percent of the River Arts District (RAD) in the marvelous Appalachian Mountains of Asheville, North Carolina. I live and work in the RAD and emerged from the storm with a story to tell. The spirit of ‘Asheville Strong’ following Helene is truly uplifting. Our community of heroic individuals rose to the occasion with care and kindness.
In 2006, I took these striking black-and-white photographs using my Olympus camera. This group represents a segment of a more extensive collection. I imagined that these images would eventually be a means of catharsis, illuminating the path to healing through self-expression. Allowing myself to experience my genuine emotions and to be authentic in my feelings has been my source of strength, guidance, and solace during turbulent times. For this, I am deeply grateful.
The nature of this photoshoot posed considerable challenges. Achieving success required me to effectively manage multiple roles: photographer, storyteller, director, model, and actor. I needed to balance my responsibilities both behind and in front of the camera, ensuring that I maintained technical precision as the photographer while also fulfilling my creative vision. As the model, it was essential to be open, vulnerable, explore my inner self, and present raw, profoundly emotional expressions. The entire series was photographed with me holding the camera while simultaneously striking poignant poses.
The primary exhibition took place in October 2024 at Princeton University, followed by a showing in November 2024 at the AFAS Red Dog Gallery.
Cleaster Cotton is an American painter, photographer, inventor, educator, and author. She was born into a large, close-knit southern family and lovingly raised in the heart of Brooklyn, New York. An international traveler since her youth, Cleaster is a cultural conservationist. During the New Great Migration, she moved to the southeast and has resided in Asheville, North Carolina, serving communities via the arts, academics, and agriculture for over a decade.
Image: Artist and designer Cleaster Cotton stands in front of the fourteen-foot steel public art installation. Going To Market is the gateway to the historic African American business district, known as The Block, in Downtown Asheville, NC, USA. This project was done in collaboration with the University of North Carolina Asheville (UNCA) STEAM Studio.
