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June Issue 2003
Franklin
G. Burroughs - Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum in Mytrle Beach, SC,
Features Retrospective of Works by Jonathan Green
Think
colors of the rainbow. Think life scenes: girls flirting, couples
courting, mothers braiding their little girls' hair. The scenes
are set in fields, front yards, churches, marshes and dance halls.
Artist Jonathan Green, who lives in Naples, FL, captures it all
in his vivid Lowcountry paintings that come to the Grand Strand
for the first time. Southern Images of Faith, Family and Friends:
The Art of Jonathan Green opens June 12 at the Franklin G.
Burroughs - Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum in Myrtle Beach, SC. It
will remain on view through Oct. 26, 2003.
The Art of Jonathan Green is inspired by the Gullah culture, a mix of African and European language, dress, religion and food found among the African-Americans who lived on the isolated islands along the South Carolina and Georgia coastline since slavery.
Green, born and raised in Beaufort County, SC, is one of the most important contemporary painters of the Southern experience. He is the only artist of Gullah descent who has been traditionally schooled and trained and who widely exhibits his paintings across the nation.
The exhibit will be a retrospective of Green's work, covering the years 1985 through 2002. Some 30 oil paintings and acrylics will be showcased by the artist in his "narrative realism" style of vibrant colors, depicting rural Southern life.
Yemasse
Lounge 
White Memories
Silent Swing 
Decoration
Day
The Ushering
Pride 
White Hat
Green offers the following about his works, "For the past twenty years my paintings have reflected the themes of work, love, belonging, spirituality, and one's relationship with the environment. Most of my perspective on life relates to the endless dialogues and expressions that I had with my Grandmother and elders during my formative years in the rural community of Gardens Corners, South Carolina. While many of those so special to me have passed, their thoughts, feelings and touch are indelibly imbedded in my memories. When I paint, I can hear the rich melodic voice of my Grandmother singing in church and the soothing patterns of her speech as she offered encouragement and support to those around her. I continue to recall the natural rhythm of my relatives as they toiled the earth, strolled worn paths from their homes to community meetings, and moved to the music endlessly flowing from my family's treasured jukebox. It is these memories that I strive to capture on canvas and share with others a sense of community and harmony with one's environment. A harmony that supports a sense of place, space, dignity, and privacy."
Braiding Hair
The Blues Singer 
Family Fishing 
Youths on White Horse
For further information check our SC Institutional Gallery listings, call the Museum at 843/238-2510 or on the Internet at (www.B-CArtMuseum.org).
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