Mason-Scharfenstein Museum of Art

Art that inspires

The Mason-Scharfenstein Museum of Art facilitates artistic and cultural enrichment by exhibiting art, serving Piedmont University, and engaging the Northeast Georgia community.

Opened in 2011, the Mason-Scharfenstein Museum of Art is the permanent home for art donated to the college by Dr. Bill Mason, a member of the Class of 1957, and Bob Scharfenstein, both of Birmingham, Alabama. Student, faculty, and visiting shows are presented throughout the year.

The museum has two permanent galleries as well as a changing exhibit space that hosts national and international shows throughout the academic year. It is the aim of the Mason-Scharfenstein Museum of Art to support the mission of Piedmont University by hosting cultural and intellectual events and also the yearly senior capstone art shows.

Learn more about the fine arts at Piedmont
Address

527 Georgia St.

Demorest, GA 30535

Hours

Tuesday – Thursday     12 – 5 PM
Friday – Saturday         12 – 7 PM

and by appointment (email museum@piedmont.edu)

Patrons queue outside the Mason-Scharfenstein Museum of Art.

Exhibition Schedule

Tales in Shape and Color: Fiber Art from the Mountain Laurel Quilters Guild’ Bee Artful Group
On display September 3, 2026 – April 22, 2027.
Tales in Shape and Color presents original quilts by the Bee Artful group of the Mountain Laurel Quilters Guild, a not-for-profit educational organization dedicated to promoting and perpetuating the art of quilting. Through shared learning and creative exchange, Bee Artful members explore new techniques while emphasizing original design and expressive craft. These quilts demonstrate a commitment to storytelling, experimentation, and the continued evolution of quilting as a community activity. It is part of Handwork: Celebrating American Craft 2026, a nationwide Semiquincentennial initiative to showcase the importance of the handmade both throughout our history and in contemporary life. Featured artists in the exhibition include Susan Barrett, Geri Beam, Gini Cawood, Janice Chiaffredo, Silke Cliatt, Alene Kempton, Denise Hopkins, Kathy Ingmundson, Laura Leiden, Bev Mannes, Melinda Oliver, Jan Pitman, Lucia Scroggs, Nancy Sievert, and Vicki Volpi, along with collaborative group works.

Narrative Threads—Textile as Text: Contemporary Narratives in Fiber
On display September 3, 2026 – May 8, 2027.
Narrative Threads—Textile as Text explores the relationship between language, storytelling, and cloth through the work of regional textile artists. Some works incorporate language directly, while others communicate through visual symbols. The exhibition is presented in association with Handwork 2026, a program by Craft in America. Featured artists in the exhibition include Amanda Greene, Cathy Fussell, Honey Pierre, Tommye Scanlin, O.V. Brantley, Jessica Wohl, and Kelly Taylor Mitchell.
View more fine arts events

Past Exhibitions

The Mason-Scharfenstein Museum of Art has hosted numerous exhibitions for the enjoyment of our students, faculty, staff, and wider community. Click through the timeline to explore previous shows.

2012-13
2013-14
2014-15
2015-16
2016-17
2017-18
2018-19
2019-20
2020-21
2021-22
2022-23
2025-26
2012-13

  • Confluence: Derek Hambly and Rose Esson-Dawson
    • January 8 – February 5, 2012
  • Sheryl Haler: Prinum Non Nocere
    • August 1 – September 14, 2012
  • Heart of Echizen: Woodfired Work by Contemporary Echizen Masters
    • September 20 – October 20, 2012
2013-14

  • Ke Francis: Narrative Works
    • January 3 – February 21, 2013
  • Jessica Wohl: Within These Walls
    • February 25 – April 4, 2013
  • Dale Kennington and Carrie Hill
    • August 22 – September 30, 2013
  • Ron Meyers: A Potter’s Menagerie
    • August 22 – September 30, 2013
  • Sloane Bibb
    • October 7 – November 7, 2013
  • Focus on Realism
    • October 1 – November 8, 2013
2014-15

  • Rosemary Dodd: Wind
    • January 6 – January 30, 2014
  • Jurgen Tarrasch: Reflection
    • February 6 – March 13, 2014
  • Art Exposure: High School Art
    • March 20 – April 3, 2014
  • UMOJA: Works from The Davis Collection
    • June 1 – August 27, 2014
  • Catharsis: Images of a Post-Conflict Belfast: Work by Angela Kelly
    • September 10 – October 31, 2014
  • Mason Gallery @ Swanson Center: FOLK ART!
    • November 1 – December 1, 2014
2015-16

  • Lenn Redman: A Look Back
    • May 14 – August 18, 2015
  • Amy Pleasant/Pete Schulte: Coupling
    • August 24 – October 8, 2015
  • Ken Procter: Vastness
    • September 1 – September 30, 2015
  • John Powers: New Work
    • October 14 – November 31, 2015
  • High School Art Show
    • January 4 – January 14, 2016
  • Gina Phillips
    • January 18 – February 29, 2016
  • Art Faculty Exhibit
    • March 4 – March 31, 2016
2016-17

  • Mac Stewart: Midnight Garden
    • May 20 – August 26, 2016
  • Zipporah Camille Thompson: Selected Works
    • September 3 – October 3, 2016
  • Moon Jung Jang: New Work
    • October 7 – November 8, 2016
  • High School Art Show
    • January 4 – 14, 2017
  • Shannon Johnstone: Landfill Dogs
    • January 18 – February 25, 2017
  • Gregor Turk: Selected Works
    • March 1 – March 31, 2017
2017-18

  • Gloria Victis: Three Artists Respon to War, featuring Temme Barkin-Leeds, Jim Buonaccorsi & Richard Notkin
    • July 15 – September 15, 2017
  • Tad Lauritzen Wright & Hamlett Dobbins: Mellow Mountain Coalition
    • September 21 – October 21, 2017
  • Allison Spence: Insider(Outsider)
    • October 26 – November 25, 2017
  • High School Art Show
    • January 8 – January 18, 2018
  • Cosmo Whyte: The Enigma of Arrival
    • January 30 – February 28, 2018
2018-19

  • Appalachia: Landscape Paintings by Keith Burgess, Lewis Hinely, Dianne Mize, & Marsha Hamby Savage
    • May 17 – August 16, 2018
  • Focus on Northeast Georgia: Works on Paper Curated by Suzanne Hicks
    • August 30 – September 27, 2018
  • Leisa Rich: The Glorious Requiem for Beasts And Souls
    • October 11 – November 8, 2018
  • Karli Pierce: Problem Solver
    • November 10 – 30, 2018
  • High School Art Show
    • January 8 – 17, 2019
  • John Folsom: The Vanishing
    • January 31 – February 28, 2019
  • Zane Cochran: EventHorizon
    • March 7 – April 9, 2019
  • Light, curated by Kylie Blanton: Curated by Arts Adminstration senior Kylie Blanton, Light is an exhibition of permanent collection landscape paintings from mid-nineteenth through the early twentieth century.
2019-20

  • Piedmont Faculty Exhibition
    • May 16 – August 15, 2019
  • Monologue: Five Contemporary Printmakers Curated by Brian Hitselberger & Rebecca Brantley
    • August 29 – September 26, 2019
  • FLORA+FAUNA: Mark Knott & Krista Grecco
    • October 10 – November 14, 2019
  • High School Art Show
  • Cheryl Goldsleger: Limits~Illusions
    • January 9 – February 7, 2020
  • Jared Ragland + Cary Norton: Where You Come From is Gone
    • February 27 – March 26, 2020
2020-21

  • Ken Woodall & Linda Anderson,
    • September 10 – October 1, 2020
  • 2020 Fellow Exhibition: Amanda Jane Burk & Drema Montgomery
    • October 15 – November 12, 2020
  • Naomi J. Falk
    • January 21 – February 11, 2021
  • Marie T. Cochran: Notes of an Affrilachian Daughter in the Era of COVID-19
    • February 25 – March 25, 2021
2021-22

2022-23

  • Contemporary Art from the Permanent Collection
    • June 9 – August 18
  • Art Rosenbaum: Telling Stories
    • September 1 – October 23
  • Joni Mabe
    • October 27 – November 29
  • Miles Cleveland Goodwin
    • January 12 – February 9
2025-26

  • Quiet Reflections | Photograms by Ann Beason and Merri Lawrence
    August 21 – November 6
  • Conserving America’s Wildlands: The Vision of Ted Turner | Photographs by Rhett Turner
    September 1, 2025 – May 9, 2026
  • Christmas at the Museum: Jan Walker and the Kingdom of Neep | Art by Jan Walker
    November 20 – December 10
  • Handwork 2026 | Art by Jennifer Graff and Thaddeus Erdhaul
    January 22 – March 19