ASHEVILLE, NC.- This summer, the Asheville Art Museum invites you to partake in Pleasant Journeys and Good Eats Along the Way: A Retrospective of Paintings by John Baeder, an exhibition of the artist’s work that showcases his 35-year obsession with roadside architecture and focuses on America’s diners.

Originally attracted to classic postcard images of Mom and Pop restaurants, John Baeder (1938- ) has spent most of his career depicting these beloved unpretentious restaurants. He has said he sees these paintings as “pleas for preservation and diners are part of the American landscape that fit into an urban context like modern folk heroes.”

Baeder’s paintings capture items and events once commonplace that have now almost disappeared. With hand-lettered placards, neon signs, old cars and polished chrome, these images invite the viewer to absorb the simplicity of roadside architecture and discover the values of hearth and home in unexpected places.

Baeder currently lives and works in Nashville, TN. This exhibition is organized by the Morris Museum of Art, Augusta, GA and will be on display at the Asheville Art Museum through Sunday, October 26, 2008.