| For more information about this article or gallery, please call the gallery phone number listed in the last line of the article, "For more info..." |
December Issue 2004
Rutledge
Street Gallery in Camden, SC, Offers Exhibit With Animal Theme
Buckingham Palace in London, the Blair House in Washington, DC,
Merrill Lynch Corporation in New York City, and Brookgreen Gardens
in South Carolina, all have a common denominatorworks of art selected
for their collections from various artists who will be exhibiting
at Rutledge Street Gallery in Camden, SC.
Beginning the week of the Colonial Cup animal enthusiasts will
be able to enjoy the show, Art of the Animal, on view through
Dec. 20, 2004.
Sculptures and paintings by artists Richard Thompson, Cynthia
Rigden, Maria Kirby-Smith, Walter Matia, Garland Weeks, Jason
Scull, Dennis Anderson, Burton Gale, Martin Gates and John Potoschnik
will be on exhibit.
Texas artist Richard Thompson has brought together artists from
around the country to exhibit at Rutledge Street Gallery. According
to Monica Laschanzky of Rutledge Street Gallery, "We wish
to thank Richard for working with us and putting together this
incredible show. The artists are all extraordinary and it is obvious
that they have lived with, loved, studied and worked with animals
of all kinds."
Thompson has combined his love for the outdoors with the love
of painting and sculpting. Collectors from coast to coast have
sought out his sculpture and paintings giving them a connection
with the animal world. His sculpture blends accuracy with sensitivity,
and frequently with humor. "My aim is to get past the surface
to the heart of the subject and hopefully touch the heart of the
viewer."
Thompson has exhibited nationally in juried shows such as the
North American Sculpture Exhibition in Golden, CO, and
the National Sculpture Society Show in New York. His most
recent commission was the life-size Prairie Woman for a
Texas college.
Cynthia Rigden's roots are in Arizona and the West, but she doesn't
call herself a "western artist", rather an artist who
comes from the West. "My work isn't western in the sense
that it's cowboys and Indians shoot-'em ups. It's western in the
fact that I live here and my animals, my models are mostly here."
She says, "I like to catch the subtle attitude of the horse,
but I don't try to romanticize them. I believe the gracefulness
and the form of the horse speak for themselves."
Internationally known sculptor Maria Kirby-Smith, lives and works
in Camden, SC, creating a variety of media, both large and small,
from clay to bronze. She has studied in art programs around the
world. Her works of art are in collections that include medallions
for The Franklin Mint, coins for The Audubon Society, O. Henry
(life size), Lovey (dog, life size) and book for the O. Henry
Festival Park in Greensboro, NC, and the Police Memorial (an eight
foot policeman holding a small child with a teddy bear) for the
city of Richmond, VA.
Maryland-based wildlife sculptor Walter Matia spent his boyhood
days "bird-watching, botanizing, log flipping and collecting."
As an avid duck hunter, he experienced "a lifetime of icy
mornings, blistered feet, mosquitoes, torrid afternoons, chapped
hands, wonderful dinners and the companionship of great knowledgeable
friends" all of which he translates into his art.
Matia's works are in many selected public and corporate collections
including his larger –than-life size commission of the fighting
bull logo of the Merrill Lynch Corporation headquartered in New
York City. The artist was also commissioned to create a fountain
and wall frieze for Blair House, the US President's official guesthouse
in Washington, DC.
Matia's sculpture Lonesome Glory, is installed at the National
Steeplechase Museum in Camden, SC. Commissioned by the Jeffords
family, the sculpture was originally located at the National Racing
Museum and Hall of Fame in Saratoga, NY, but the family wished
for the sculpture to be installed in Camden, due to the tremendous
racing record here for Lonesome Glory.
Burton Gale was a native of Vermont and settled in Camden, SC,
for the climate and equestrian activity. He was a retired United
States Air Force Officer and retired teacher. He earned recognition
as a sculptor of animal bronzes. Gale also produced welded metal
constructions, assemblages comprised of found objects and ceramic
pieces. He has exhibited in Vermont, New York, Texas, South Carolina,
Massachusetts and Louisiana.
Martin Gates made his first carving, an Indian head from a piece
of juniper at his grandparents' cabin in Oregon. Working first
with his father in the antique importing business, he decided,
after winning his first major competition, to pursue art as a
full time career. Since then, Gates has won numerous awards and
exhibited in major shows and museums across the country, including
National Wildlife Federation in Washington, DC, Ward Museum, Salisbury,
MD, and Benson Park Sculpture Garden in Loveland CO. His works
range from a life-size Madonna to tiny hummingbirds. Gates' creations
evolve from alabaster and marble to bronze and fired terracotta.
He lives with his wife and two daughters in Florida.
Garland Weeks, realized two of his primary professional sculpting
goals by being elected to full membership in the National Sculpture
Society and to the National Academy of Western art in 1990. He
was selected as the Official Sculptor of Texas in 1995 by the
Texas State Legislature and advanced to the status of "Fellow"
by the National Sculpture Society in 2004. Some of Weeks life-size
monuments include OldYeller to memorialize the classic
book's author, Fred Gipson and the life-size monument at the Kansas
Cosmosphere and Space Center in Kansas memorializing the astronaut
Gene Cernan as being the last man to step off the face of the
moon.
Weeks works on sculptures based on observations of wildlife, insects,
pets and livestock. He is currently engaged in a commission for
a life-sized WWII infantry soldier, as well as a memorial to public
safety "first responders with 6 figures at 1 times life-size.
He also finds time to serve as the Kenan Master Sculptor in Residence
at Brookgreen Garden, SC, and to teach 24 high-school student
art scholarship recipients at a 21-day art camp each summer.
Weeks' works are in collections around the world including Buckingham
Palace in London, England, World Boxing Federation in Mexico City,
Mexico and Bond International Gold, Inc. in Australia.
John Potoschnik was born in St. Ives, Cornwall, England, raised
in Wichita, KS, and currently resides in Wylie, TX. After graduation
from Wichita State with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree he pursued
study in illustration at Art Center College in Los Angeles and
most recently in human anatomy at the Lyme Academy of Fine Art
in Old Lyme, CT. After working as a freelance illustrator in Dallas
for ten years, Potoschnik moved into the fine arts in 1982 and
has since then, completed more than 500 paintings. His work has
appeared in Southwest Art, American Artist and The Artist's
Magazine. His paintings are found in collections from Rhode
Island to Hawaii.
Jason Scull began sculpting in 1987. His work has found a receptive
audience in the western states and can be found in private, museum
and corporate collections throughout the United States, Canada
and the British Isles. His public sculptures include a life size
equestrian monument to John "Jack" C. Hays, early Texas
Ranger, located on the courthouse square in San Marcos, Texas.
For more information check our SC Commercial Gallery listings
or call the gallery at 803/425-0071.
Carolina Arts is published monthly by Shoestring Publishing Company, a subsidiary of PSMG, Inc. Copyright© 2004 by PSMG, Inc., which published Charleston Arts from July 1987 - Dec. 1994 and South Carolina Arts from Jan. 1995 - Dec. 1996. It also publishes Carolina Arts Online, Copyright© 2004 by PSMG, Inc. All rights reserved by PSMG, Inc. or by the authors of articles. Reproduction or use without written permission is strictly prohibited. Carolina Arts is available throughout North & South Carolina.