The mixed media exhibit includes
work by B’Racz her sister, Piri B’Racz Gibson, her brother-in-law (and Piri’s
husband), Andrew Gibson, and her nephew (Piri’s and Andrew’s son), Gareth Jesse
Gibson.
“As young people, my siblings and
I divided up the arts among us,” B’Racz said with a smile: “I was the writer,
Piri the visual artist, and my brother, Istvan, the musician. We would get
together--Andrew and Gareth later joined the group--to talk and listen to
music, to paint and to draw. It brought us great joy, and supported us when any
of us was in low spirits. I remember similar happy evenings at our family home
with my parents and their friends when I was a child in Hungary. Sitting around
the table, they discussed everything from politics to art. My mother, in
particular, loved poetry, so reciting poetry was a part of the evenings.
Looking back, I’m sure that this is where I first felt the joy of joining art
and community.”
“Most of my life,” B’Racz
continued, “writing has come easily, but there was a period when words
completely failed me. I had a dream at the time, and in that dream I heard a
voice saying ‘Paint what you write, and write what you paint.’ I took the
message seriously. That was when I started to make art. I used whatever
material was around--acrylic paint, but also shoe polish, chopsticks, you name
it. I worked intuitively, with color as my inspiration.”
Downtown Books & News: Then
and Now
B’Racz started Downtown Books
& News in 1988 in response to comments from Malaprop’s customers that they
could not always afford to buy new books. “I wanted to create a place that
shared Malaprop’s values and high standards, but with gently-used books,
newspapers, and magazines. Over the years, DBN has grown to hold nearly 30,000
used and rare books. We have wonderfully tall walls, so about four years ago we decided to take advantage
of them by creating a gallery space for art exhibits.”
Malaprop’s and DBN have a close
relationship. “If a customer comes to Malaprop’s looking for a book that’s not
currently on our shelves and that the customer wants right away,” says B’Racz,
“we call to see if DBN has it in stock. It feels good to be able to provide
that extra service and get a book into our customers’ hands quickly.
Julian Vorus, who worked at
Malaprop’s before moving to DBN, has managed the store for over a decade. “Some
people find it surprising that we’re not dependent on Asheville’s tourist trade
for our livelihood. Although we definitely welcome out-of-town visitors, our
bread-and-butter is the loyal locals who come back year after year--and week
after week--to see what’s new to our shelves.” Vorus notes that the store has
opened every day of the year since its founding 29 years ago, including
Christmas Day, when many other retail establishments are closed. “I’ve never
required anyone to work on Christmas,” says Vorus. “But someone invariably
volunteers. At first we stayed open because we wanted customers to be able to
get their daily newspaper, but it has become a kind of celebratory day for the
store, sometimes with a spontaneous potluck.”
Downtown Book & News is
located at 67 N. Lexington Street, in downtown Asheville.. Website: http://www.dbnbooks.com/
Phone: 828.253.8654
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