NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Brooklyn-based mixed media artist Tamara Kostianovsky has beenselected as Cheekwood Estate & Gardens’ 2025 Martin Shallenberger Artist-in-Residence.
Kostianovsky’s sculptural installations, often crafted from discarded textiles, transformpersonal materials such as old clothes and linens into surreal forms. Her work combines realism and surrealism, and often evokes themes of vulnerability, ecology, and the environment. Through her careful manipulation of fabric, stitches, and textures, Kostianovsky creates dynamic works that explore memory, nature, and renewal.
The residency will culminate with a large-scale installation exhibition on view within theMuseum’s temporary exhibition space from April 26, 2025, through June 15, 2025.
“We are thrilled to welcome Tamara Kostianovsky as this year’s Artist-in-Residence,seeking inspiration from Cheekwood’s gardens, historic mansion, and surrounds. We look forward to sharing her captivating installation and art making process with the Nashville community,” said Sarah Sperling, Cheekwood Senior Vice President of External Relations and Museum Affairs.
About Tamara Kostianovsky
Kostianovsky has presented solo exhibitions at the Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature in Paris, France, The Baker Museum in Naples, FL, Denver Botanic Gardens, Smack Mellon in Brooklyn, NY, Fuller Craft Museum in Brockton, MA, Ogden Contemporary Arts in Ogden, UT, SLAG&RX Gallery in New York and Paris and many others.
Her work has also been featured in group exhibitions at venues including the Brooklyn Museum, El Museo del Barrio, The Jewish Museum, Nevada Museum of Art, The Rockefeller Center, BIENALSUR in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and the Musée du Textile et de la Mode, Cholet, France.
She is the recipient of distinguished awards including a Guggenheim Fellowship, and grants from NYFA, the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, and The Virginia Groot Foundation. Her work has been reviewed in publications such as The New York Times, Art in America, The Wall Street Journal, Madame le Figaro, Liberation, Colossal, and Hyperallergic.
Kostianovsky is Argentine American and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the National School of Fine Arts in Buenos Aires, Argentina (1998), and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia (2003).
Martin Shallenberger Artist-in-Residence Series
The Martin Shallenberger Artist-in-Residence series is an initiative focused on bringing innovative, dynamic and intriguing artists to Nashville. The residency enables artists to create and exhibit site-specific works at Cheekwood, while allowing for the opportunity to interact with staff, visitors, and the larger community. The program provides living arrangements for the artist during the multi-week residency.
Past Artist-in-Residence participants include Dorothy O’Connor, Soo Sunny Park, Hiroshi Sato, Michael McMath, Craig Black and Sarah Nguyen.
For more information on Kostianovsky’s upcoming exhibition or to purchase tickets visit: cheekwood.org/calendar-events.
About Cheekwood Estate & Gardens
With its intact and picturesque vistas, Cheekwood is distinguished as one of the leading Country Place Era estates in the nation. Formerly the family home of Mabel and Leslie Cheek, the 1930s estate, with its 30,000-square-foot Mansion and 55-acres of gardens, today serves the public as a botanical garden, arboretum, and art museum with furnished period rooms and galleries devoted to American art from the 18th to mid-20th centuries. The property includes 13 distinct gardens including the Blevins Japanese Garden and the Bracken Foundation Children’s Garden, as well as a 1.5-mile woodland trail featuring outdoor monumental sculpture. Each year, Cheekwood hosts seasonal festivals including Cheekwood in Bloom, Summertime at Cheekwood, Cheekwood Harvest and Holiday LIGHTS. Cheekwood is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums and nationally as a Level II Arboretum. It is a three-time voted USA Today Top 10 Botanical Garden, in 2024 received a Tripadvisor Travelers’ Choice Award, and in 2021 was named by Fodors as one of the 12 Most Beautiful Gardens in the American South. Cheekwood is located eight miles southwest of downtown Nashville at 1200 Forrest Park Drive. It is open Tuesday through Sunday 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., with extended days and hours of operation depending on the season. Visit cheekwood.org for current hours and to purchase advance tickets required for admission.
###