Vintage cars on exhibit at N.C. Museum of Art

Three years ago, the N.C. Museum of Art opened their doors to a different kind of art – the classic lines of machines with raw horsepower: porsches rather than Picassos.

The rolling sculpture as it was dubbed was a huge success – more than 100,000 people toured the exhibit during the three-month exhibit.

Now the museum has upped the ante with “Rolling Sculpture: Art Deco Cars from the 1930s and ’40s.” The Art Deco period was all about luxury and glamour and the vehicles of that time are, well, the kind you swoon over with sensuous shapes and deep, luxurious finishes. Fourteen cars and three motorcycles are part of the exhibit, including a 1934 BMW R7 Concept Motorcycle, 934 Edsel Ford’s Model 40 Speedster, a 1933 Pierce-Arrow Silver Arrow and a 1936 Peugeot 402 Darl’mat Coupe.

Your first chance to see the cars will be Thursday, Sept. 29, during an opening celebration featuring all hors d’oeuvres, signature cocktails and live jazz. The event starts at 7 p.m. in the East Building. The cost is $75 for members and $100 for nonmembers.

The exhibition officially opens at 9 a.m. (yes, an hour earlier than normal) on Oct. 1. The museum is hosting a classic car meetup from 8 a.m. to noon in the Blue Ridge Parking lot (bring your own or just look at others). The Belgian Waffle Crafters food truck will on hand for those who don’t like to miss their breakfast.

From noon to 3 p.m., there will special pop-up art activities inspired by the exhibit in the East Building and the museum plaza.

Family tours will be offered for those with children age 6 to 12 at At 11:30 a.m, 1:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m., Saturday, and at 1:30 and 2:30 p.m. Sunday. They’re free with a paid exhibition ticket. Meet the docent on Level B outside exhibition entrance. Sign up for them, first come, first served, on Saturday.

The exhibit will be at the museum at 2110 Blue Ridge Road through Jan. 15.

Tickets to the exhibit are $16 for seniors (65+), military, groups of 10 or more and college students with current ID, $19 all other adults, $13 ages 7−18. Members get in for free on their first visit as do children age 6 and under. You can buy them online at http://ncartmuseum.org

For more details and to see all related events, go to the museum’s website or call 919-839-6262.

Art to nourish others

Jim Hallenbeck is a Raleigh artist on a mission: to raise funds and awareness of the Food Bank.

Hallenbeck is a former IBMer (he retired in 2015) who, while working for the company, spent two years as a director on the board of the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina. There he learned that close to 600,000 people, including almost 200,000 children, are at risk of hunger every day in the 35 counties of central and eastern North Carolina.

This month he once again wants to do something to help stave off that hunger. He’s got a solo exhibition at Margaux’s restaurant from Saturday, Oct. 1, through December. Hallenbeck says he’s committed to donating 10 percent of all proceeds of the art he sells at the exhibit to the Food Bank. There will also be a food donation box at Margaux’s the entire time and the Food Bank and its key partners will be at the exhibit’s opening reception from 6-9 p.m. on Oct. 13 if you want to learn more about the organization.

If Hallenbeck’s name sounds familiar to you it’s because he was featured in The N&O last fall for both his efforts to help Christiana Harris, who was then homeless, get housing and for the painting he did of her in front of the Raleigh acorn, “Christiana & the Acorn.” Hallenbeck plans to donate half the proceeds of the sale of that painting to the Raleigh Rescue Mission.

This story was originally published September 23, 2016 at 10:27 AM with the headline "Vintage cars on exhibit at N.C. Museum of Art."