Feature Articles


November Issue 2000

Here's a Carolina Arts Update! 7/22/05

erl originals gallery in Winston-Salem, NC, is now closed. The following is no reflection on the artist(s) mentioned in this article. They still deserve the historical fact that this exhibition happened.

Here is an excerpt from an article in the Winston-Salem Journal's Dec. 10, 2004, edition: "In late September, (2004) erl's owners, Peter and Lee Swenson, and the company they operate, Bogart Management Group, were foreclosed on by their bank. They were barred from their gallery at 480 West End Blvd. for being months in arrears on rent and utilities. Peter Swenson is facing numerous tax-fraud charges, as well as a growing number of civil lawsuits filed by creditors seeking to collect payments they say are long overdue".

 

e.r.l Originals Gallery in Winston-Salem, NC, Features Works by Mark Hewitt, Richard Fennell and Ginger Spangler

Mark Hewitt, an internationally recognized potter, and Richard A. Fennell, well known throughout the Southeast for his oil paintings, will exhibit in the main gallery at e.r.l. originals in Winston-Salem, NC, through Nov. 29. At the same time, mixed media works by NC artist Ginger Spangler will be on exhibit in e.r.l.'s "Gallery G."

A native of Stoke-on-Trent, England, both Mark Hewitt's father and grandfather were directors at Spode ltd., the fine china manufacturer. He served apprenticeships with master potters Michael Cardew in Britain and Todd Piker in Connecticut and traveled extensively in West Africa, Taiwan, Japan, and Korea studying different pottery techniques before settling in NC in 1982.

While many potters now use modern gas or electric ovens, Hewitt still uses on a 40-foot long, 900 cubic foot wood-burning kiln because he sees the aesthetic rewards of taming an inferno to produce unique qualities in his pottery. Much of his stoneware is salt-glazed, recognizable by its orange-peel texture, which he mixes with other glazes for a variety of colors and textures, he specializes in the production of very large garden planters, storage jars and vases, ranging from 10 to 30 gallons, along with a full range of tableware. He mines and refines his own stoneware clays and glaze materials near his NC home.

Hewitt's works can be found in numerous permanent collections, among them the Mint Museum of Craft + Design, Charlotte; Smithsonian Institution (Renwick Gallery); the City of Stoke-on-Trent Museum, Staffordshire, England; Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum, Minneapolis; Chrysler Museum, Norfolk; Mint Museum, Charlotte; Ackland Museum, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Arkansas Art Center in Little Rock; the National Arboretum, Washington, DC; and the Executive Mansion in Raleigh. He has also been featured in numerous publications, including Smithsonian Magazine, Ceramics Monthly, and Studio Potter.

Richard Fennell paints in oil on canvas as well as oil on paper. His works are in numerous public, private, and corporate collections, among them, the NC Museum of Art; Kenan Collection at the University of North Carolina; Duke University; Center for Creative Leadership, Greensboro; R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., Winston-Salem; IBM, Raleigh; NationsBank, Charlotte; Coca-Cola Enterprises, Atlanta; Glaxco Pharmaceuticals. Washington, DC and Research Triangle Park; the NC Hospital Association; and the private collection of actor Alan Alda.

A NC native, Fennell holds a BFA degree from East Carolina University and a MFA degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He studied sculpture for four years under Peter Agostini followed by two years as Agostini's assistant in sculpture and painting. He has served as a part-time instructor at UNC-Greensboro and Alamance Community College. Fennell as had one-man shows at galleries across NC.

Mixed media works by Ginger Spangler will be on exhibit in Gallery G. She works in painting and mixed media, depicting concepts of rural southern life to include paradoxes, myths and stereotypes. A native North Carolinian, her work reflects the stories often found in families and the importance of oral history in the south. Her collages and mixed media compositions frequently feature photographs.

Spangler holds a BFA from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, with a concentration in painting, and a BS degree in elementary education from Western Carolina University. She has worked in the Department of Arts at Gardner-Webb University, as a high school art teacher, a curatorial associate for two Charlotte firms, as well as a freelance designer. She has exhibited in numerous galleries in North and South Carolina, and her works can be seen in a number of corporate collections.

For further information check our NC Commercial Gallery listings or call the gallery at 336/760-4373 or on the web at (http://www.erloriginals.com).



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