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January Issue 2011

Burroughs-Chapin Art Museum in Myrtle Beach, SC, Features Works by Robert Courtright and Steven Forbes-deSoule

The Franklin G. Burroughs-Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum in Myrtle Beach will present two new exhibits including: Robert Courtright: Collages, Collage Construction, and Masks, 1953-2008, on view from Jan. 16 through Apr. 28, 2011 and Serendipity: Raku by Steven Forbes-deSoule, on view from Jan. 9 through Mar. 20, 2011.

Robert Courtright is rarely exhibited in his home state of South Carolina and that is why the Franklin G. Burroughs-Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum of Myrtle Beach is proud to be one of only two South Carolina venues to showcase the major retrospective. One of the largest most comprehensive exhibitions of his work ever mounted, the exhibit features over 70 works, from early collages and masks to new collage constructions made specifically for this exhibit. An opening reception will be held on Sunday, Jan. 16, 2011, from 1-3pm, with Courtright's artist talk beginning at 1:30pm.

Courtright was born in Sumter, SC. He spent his young adult years studying at the Art Students League and the New School for Social Research in New York as well as St. John's College in Maryland. After finishing up his studies, in 1949, Courtright visited Europe, which three years later he made his home. While in Europe, Courtright passed a shop in Nice, France where children's papier-mâché masks caught his eye. His imagination lit up. He purchased a few and took them to his studio to accentuate them with his artistic mark. It wasn't until a while later that these creations were discovered by a client of his. Creating large and small masks is Courtright's newest artistic direction. In addition to crafting his "faces" in a variety of sizes, Courtright varies the material from Carrera marble to bronze to paper and more.

From 2007 to 2008, Courtright participated in the University of South Carolina's art department's Atelier, a visiting artist program in which artists work with master printers from the school an interact with the students. He created a number of pieces while at the University.

Organized by the South Carolina State Museum, this survey of Courtright's work will captivate and inspire with pieces ranging from very early and rarely seen architectural collages that the artist completed just after moving to Europe to his most recent collage constructions and masks completed in his New York City Studio.

North Carolina artist Steven Forbes-deSoule's elegant, one of a kind, raku-fired pottery reflects the cumulative skills gained over thirty years as a studio ceramicist. The exhibit, Serendipity: Raku by Steven Forbes-deSoule, will include his familiar large ovoid pieces as well as some from his new series of winged bowls and vases. The opening reception for Serendipity will take place on Sunday, Jan. 16, 2011, from 1-3pm, with Forbes-deSoule's artist talk starting at 2:15pm.

Forbes-deSoule was born in Des Moines, IA, in 1946. He received his BA in Journalism/Advertising from Drake University in 1968. After a three year stint as an officer in the US Navy, Forbes-deSoule pursued two brief corporate careers. In 1973, after quitting the second corporate job, he traveled to Atlanta to visit a friend, where he ended up staying for nearly 20 years. During that time he attended Georgia State University where he took his first art class ever - ceramics. Five years later he received his Masters of Visual Arts degree with a major in ceramics. He also met and married his wife of over 30 years, Lynn Powell-Forbes.

"The one constant with my work throughout the years has been transformation," says Forbes-deSoule. "I find it fun and challenging to try new things, and I especially enjoy developing new glazes. I started firing exclusively using the raku process in 1982 and found the element of serendipity and surprise to be invigorating."

Forbes-deSoule recently developed a new, unique surface, which he calls a "halo/opal" glaze. The glaze contains both copper and silver; each piece is truly unique and reveals a wide range of colors. Forbes-deSoule has also been incorporating melted stained glass and colored glass rods into his work, which provides an interesting new dimension. He believes he is using ceramic art as a means to achieve a balance between conscious control and the more subtle, unconscious or universal forces that permeate our reality.

Throughout the years Forbes-deSoule has been featured in a variety of group and solo exhibitions. His ceramics are part of numerous corporate, private and Museum collections throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and Japan. Currently his work is featured at the Blue Spiral 1 Gallery in Asheville, NC, and Carolina Clay Gallery on Kiawah Island, SC.

For further information check our SC Institutional Gallery listings, call the Museum at 843/238-2510 or visit (www.MyrtleBeachArtMuseum.org).

 

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