The Alabama Center for the Arts opens its 2017 exhibition season with Around the Bend, an exhibition of drawings and paintings by north Alabama artist Robert Cox.

According to a press release, Cox’s work is inspired by the regional landscape of the Southeast and focuses on the biological and cultural heritage of our national forests and wilderness areas, wildlife refuges and other public lands.

“His drawings and paintings, while contemporary, reflect a deep respect for the natural world and the tradition of landscape inspired art,” the release said.

The exhibition includes 50 works of art completed over the past 25 years. Mediums include charcoal on paper, graphite on paper and multi-layered graphite drawings on film. Personally curated by the artist, the exhibition includes recent work, works on loan from private collections and works selected from the artist’s personal archives, never before exhibited.

“My work is informed by a lifetime of exploring our great public lands across Southern Appalachia, including the Warrior Mountains (Bankhead National Forest), the Talladega Mountains, the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge and the Cohutta Mountains in north Georgia,” Cox said. “These places protect not only the natural heritage of Alabama and the Southeast, but also our rich cultural heritage.”

Cox was formerly assistant professor of art and foundations coordinator at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where he taught for 13 years.

He has taught multiple levels of drawing, painting, color theory and design at various schools, including the University of Alabama and Young Harris College in the north Georgia mountains. Cox received his Master of Fine Arts degree in Studio Art from the University of Memphis and holds a degree in Studio Art from the University of North Alabama in Florence. In 1999, he was awarded a Fulbright Foreign Scholarship.

He has participated in more than 90 regional and national exhibitions of art over the past 30 years, including 10 one-person exhibitions.

For more information, contact the Alabama Center for Arts at 256-260-4299 or visit the website at www.alabamacenterforthearts.org.