Craighead Green Gallery will present Jeanie Gooden: "Heavy Metal Tender Heart." The exhibit embraces the idea of living life with grit and grace. The artist believes that people are all called to face challenges. Learning when to lean into strength or softness, or a combination of both, can challenge them and it can soothe them.

Often considered sculptural in nature, Gooden's paintings are layered and often complex. The challenge is to unify many elements in a way that creates a single "skin." The juxtaposition of the harder metal surfaces and the softness of canvas and textiles is very appealing.

Gooden is an American painter whose work is deeply influenced by architecture and culture. Gooden lives between the United States and Central Mexico. For the past decade, most of her paintings have been created in the colonial city of San Miguel de Allende.

Her work is non-representational mixed media, which is often large in scale. In recent years, the surfaces have become very layered using a mix of paint, pigments, paper, textiles, metal, nails and hand stitching on canvas. Materials vary within a body of work offering both smoother surface paintings and deep textured pieces.

Following the opening reception, the exhibit will be on display through December 30.