Feature Articles
 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..."


February Issue 2005

City Art in Columbia, SC, Presents a Series of Emerging Artists in Solo & Group Exhibits

City Art in Columbia, SC, is known to represent the highest caliber of distinguished contemporary artists with nationally recognized names such as Alex Powers of Myrtle Beach, SC, Tarleton Blackwell of Manning SC, and John Monteith of Columbia. In addition to working with artists in mid-career, City Art also nurtures the careers of promising young artists. With the success of the 2002 and 2003 School's Out: Emerging Artists of the Southeast Exhibition, City Art has become devoted to seeking exceptionally talented emerging artists and launching them into the Southeastern Art World. In this tradition, City Art will present a series of emerging artists in solo and group exhibitions this spring.

Hollis Brown Thornton

City Art begins this series with Hollis Brown Thornton in a solo show titled Great Sea Creatures & Punica Granatum on view through Mar. 5, 2005. Thornton last showed his work in Columbia in the Felt Moment exhibition at the Columbia Museum of Art in 2003. This is Thornton's first solo show in Columbia, since he moved to Chicago, IL in 2001.

As a native of Aiken, SC and a resident of Chicago, Il., Thornton has moved beyond local status, yet, he remains stalwart of Southern traditions. Thornton, a Bachelor of Fine Arts graduate of the University of South Carolina, will install over a 100 pieces in City Art of Columbia, S.C. and Jackson Gallery & Sculpture Garden of Aiken, S.C. The show will consist of a chronological installation of Thornton's signature 10x10 inch paintings. Thornton's work is concept driven and visually stimulating based on "our inability to understand fully our surroundings." Thornton explains, "The viewer has to rely on knowledge and understanding gained from personal observation, science and reason, and religion and faith."

Like our never-ending quest for knowledge, Thornton's work contains a searching and discovering progression. The earlier paintings focus on the texture of the paint and the look and feel of the surface, each canvas having a raw, unfinished appearance. The series develops into imagery driven compositions based on scientific and religious symbols. 

Thornton's 10x10 inch and large-scale works will be available for purchase at City Art. As an emerging artist, Thornton's work is a great addition to any collection, while easy on the budget. Thornton's work is sure to raise the value and aesthetic of any collection.

After success in the School's Out II: Emerging Artists of the Southeast 2004 at City Art, Bob Snead's work will be presented in his first Columbia solo show. City Art is proud to show the artwork of Bob Snead from Mar. 10- Apr. 2, 2005. Snead, a Professor of Printmaking at the College of Charleston, has been in the contemporary art spotlight with his satirical and autobiographical works. Engaging the viewer, Snead uses humor to deal with underlying social issues.Snead has revitalized contemporary art in Charleston as an artist and as a founding member of Redux Contemporary Art Center. Snead has been featured in many group exhibits including the critically acclaimed Triennial 2004, on view through Feb. 27, 2005, at the SC State Museum in Columbia.
 
The search is on again for emerging artists. City Art is currently preparing for the Schools Out III: Emerging Artist of the Southeast 2005 exhibition, on view from Apr. 29 through May 28, 2005. City Art looks forward to presenting its third graduating class. The exhibit will feature the work of artists who work in a variety of media and whose work exemplifies exciting new directions in contemporary art.
 
School's Out III is the result of a nominating process in which City Art asks studio art faculty members throughout the Southeast to identify the most talented recent graduates, artists who promise to be of a caliber high enough to "make it" in the competitive art culture. The selected artists display high levels of professionalism and whose work together exemplifies new trends in the contemporary visual culture. The exhibition has proven to be a springboard for successful art careers.

For more info check our SC Commercial Gallery listings, contact Marissa Dancer, Executive Assistant, City Art Gallery, at 803/252-3613 or at (www.cityartonline.com).


[ | Feb'05 | Feature Articles | Gallery Listings | Home | ]

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.