Asheville 'fearless force of nature' artist, arts advocate Connie Bostic dies at age 87

ASHEVILLE - A “fearless force of nature” artist, arts advocate and community builder who helped shape Asheville and empowered creative expression has died.

Connie Bostic, born June 8, 1936, died at her home in Fairview on Jan. 14. She was 87.

Bostic was preceded in death by her husband, George Bostic, son, John Mark Bostic, and daughter, Mary Victoria "Ticker" Landers. She is survived by her son, Michael Bostic, and daughter, Catherine Bostic Southern, four granddaughters, a grandson, two great-granddaughters and two great-grandsons.

Southern described her mother as “an amazing spirit.”

“I am so very proud of all the things she accomplished and all the people she touched and all the lives she changed,” Southern said. “So many people have reached out to me and said, ‘You just don’t know what a difference that woman made in my life.’”

Bostic arranged to be cremated, as was her late husband, whom she was married to for nearly 60 years, according to Southern.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

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Bostic's early Asheville years

Bostic gravitated toward mediums including oil and acrylic paint, collage, prints and drawing.

Bostic's artworks have been exhibited in many galleries and collected by buyers for several decades. However, it wasn’t until coming to Asheville that her talents bloomed, and her impact rippled across the city and region.

In 1970, Bostic and her husband, George, moved to Asheville from Spindale with their five children.

“Where she grew up there wasn’t a whole lot of opportunities as far as art goes and she was introduced to that through an elementary school art teacher who had shown some photographs of some famous pieces and that sparked her interest,” Southern said.

Southern said Bostic put art on the back burner when she became a wife and mother but found a love for raising and tending to horses and hounds. She also enjoyed gardening throughout her life.

In the late 1970s, Bostic enrolled at UNC Asheville to study art but didn’t complete the program, Southern said.

Bob Godfrey, the former art department director at Western Carolina University, encouraged Bostic to resume her pursuit of an arts education. Bostic earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in fine arts at WCU, simultaneously, through the support and influence of Godfrey, Southern said.

Later, Bostic became an art teacher at her private studio in Fairview, where she continued to teach and create original works until her death.

“So many people were in and out of that place all the time. You never knew who you would run into when you stopped by. It was definitely the social hub for artists in Fairview,” Southern said. “They all loved her. … Everyone blossomed under her leadership.”

Bostic's community influences

Alice Sebrell, director of preservation at the Black Mountain College Museum and Arts Center, said Bostic was a board member early on with the museum, which was founded in 1993, and remained active until her death.

In 2018, the museum’s main gallery was named the Connie Bostic Gallery, due to her many influences at the college and in the arts and community.

Bostic curated exhibits and wrote essays for publications among many other contributions, and Sebrell said the artist has left a lasting imprint.

“She was courageous, funny ― she never said ‘no,’” Sebrell said. “She helped so many people in so many different ways. People affected by Connie in this community and the world at large are so many it’s hard to even guess how many people would say Connie was a mentor for them or a major figure in their life.”

Southern said Bostic’s influence was evident in the arts circles and communitywide.

“She had a big personality. She was very good at connecting people with people who could help one another out. She was good at relationship building,” Southern said.

Before fully delving into the arts scene, Bostic co-founded Craig’s, a gay bar, which later was reintroduced as the original Asheville Music Hall (no association with the current business) in the early 1980s on Wall Street in downtown Asheville, according to Southern.

At both businesses, artists’ works were displayed and sold, including Bostic’s.

In 1991, Bostic introduced Zone One Contemporary Gallery on Biltmore Avenue downtown, which operated until 2000.

“She brought art to Asheville that had never been here before,” Southern said. “She opened the first contemporary art gallery in Asheville.”

Art statements and impact

Southern said her mother was known for her politically charged art.

“She always wanted things to be good. It wasn’t about money for her in the art world,” Southern said. “It was important for her to make a statement and make a bold statement and stand up for people who didn’t have a voice and bring to Asheville artists who otherwise wouldn’t have been shown here and that was her contribution.”

Southern said Bostic occasionally had doubts if a subject may be too controversial but that didn’t stop her.

“She was a talented artist, and she was not afraid to look at subjects that others might turn away from ― things like war or abortion or challenging social issues,” Sebrell said. “She could look at those issues through her own particular way and speak about them through her artwork.”

Southern said Bostic's subjects were geared toward making statements about inequities and bringing attention to things that were unfair and controversial in the world.

“It didn’t matter if it was or not. She was going to do it regardless of controversy,” Southern said. “She was definitely a fearless force of nature.”

Sebrell said the numerous exhibitions featuring Bostic’s works speak to the respect the Asheville community held for her.

In 2023, Bostic attended “Walking Naked in the World,” a retrospective exhibition of her work, at Upstairs Artspace in Tyron.

On Feb. 23, the "Connie Bostic: To Be an Artist Means Never to Avert Your Eyes" exhibition will open at the S. Tucker Cooke Gallery in Owen Hall on the campus of UNC Asheville. The opening reception will be at 6 p.m. Feb. 23 and the exhibition will run through March 29.

The gallery hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday. The event is free and open to the public.

Southern encourages community members to attend in honor of her mother.

“Connie exemplifies something important for all of us to look to in terms of having the courage to live out our beliefs and not be afraid of consequences but to walk our talk,” Sebrell said.

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Tiana Kennell is the food and dining reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at tkennell@citizentimes.com or follow her on Instagram @PrincessOfPage. Please support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville artist Connie Bostic artist advocate dead at 87