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Could the Charleston Art Auction One Day Top $15 Million in Sales?

Wednesday, April 13th, 2011

Work by Elizabeth O’Neill Verner

A few weeks ago I posted an entry here about our day on April 1, April Fool’s day and I mentioned that one of the professionals at Morris & Whiteside Galleries on Hilton Head Island, SC, had called to remind me it was April Fools day – while in the middle of an art auction in Scottsdale, AZ, which ended up selling over 15 million dollars of art. I was amazed that they could find such time to call me, but later was honored to have them pull my leg in the middle of such an event.

A reader e-mailed asking if they could move that auction here. I replied that they are already here, but have not reached the 15 million mark here – yet. This e-mail prompted me to ask Jack A. Morris, Jr. with the Charleston Art Auction and Scottsdale Art Auction to send us some info about what’s going on with these auctions. And he did.

I just want to add one point to the info Morris sent. Although the Charleston Art Auction takes place in Charleston, SC, this auction is a Southern event and an East of the Mississippi event. If you have some significant artworks that you would like to turn into cash and you’re reading this from North Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, or even Rhode Island – give these folks a call. If you have works by Will Henry Stevens, George Biddle, Alfred Herber Hutty, Elizabeth O’Neill Verner, William Aiken Walker, – just to name a few – give them a call. You might also have works by regional artists still living that could bring you a nice return on your investment – who knows – give them a call.

One final point about Jack A, Morris. When you read that he was once head of the SC Arts Commission, that was the board and it was back in the 1970′s when the commission was more concerned with the arts in SC, not their image among other state arts agencies.

Charleston Art Auction

Work by Alfred Herber Hutty

A licensed auctioneer for over twenty-five years, Morris has organized sales in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and South Carolina. He is the organizing partner of Scottsdale Art Auction that recently sold over fifteen million dollars of American western, wildlife and sporting art on April 2, 2011. His roots, however, are in the South. He was born in Macon, GA, educated at the University of South Carolina, is a former chairman of the South Carolina Arts Commission and author of the book, Contemporary Art of South Carolina.

For Morris, it is about creating an active secondary market to support collectors, galleries and others who need a trading center for fine art in Charleston similar to Sothebys, Christies and other auction houses scattered throughout the country. His partners, Ben Whiteside, Joe Sylvan and David Leahy have over fifty years combined experience in the auction business.

The plan is to establish Charleston Art Auction in the East to complement western auctions such as Scottsdale Art Auction, Coeur d’Alene Art Auction and Jackson Hole Art Auction. “We want to become an effective clearing house for those who need to sell paintings and sculpture by established artists,” said Sylvan “and most professional retail galleries are not set up to provide that service.”

“It is a building process that takes several years,” added Whiteside “and, as we enter our seventh year, we are confident we have the essentials in place to provide that service.” Conducted on the same weekend that Charleston Fine Art Dealers hold their Charleston Fine Art Annual, the auction draws collectors from throughout the United States and those buyers also help stimulate the local gallery economy. The event has been sold out every year with standing room only and the auction this year will be held in a new, larger location at the Double Tree Hotel on Church Street on Saturday, November 5, 2011.

Work by Shannon Smith

The nationally advertised sale already holds auction records for Jonathan Green, Mary Whyte, Pino and Ray Ellis, among others. Charleston galleries have also found the venue a great opportunity to showcase some of their emerging artists and begin to establish sale records on internet sites such as AskArt and ArtNet.

The auction has a website, (www.charlestonartauction.com) and live bidding is available on the internet and through a phone bank of six operators at the sale. The auction is conducted by nationally acclaimed auctioneer, Gerald Bowie and attendees have described the evening event as “exciting and entertaining.” Bidders have learned that they have to be on their toes with lots selling at the rate on one per minute, Bowie doesn’t waste any time. Consignments are now being accepted for the 2011 auction. For more information, visit the Charleston Art Auction offices at 171 King Street, Charleston, SC, or call 843/842-4433 or 843/722-2172.

Scottsdale Art Auction

Work by Thomas Moran

There was standing room only for an eager crowd of Western art collectors in the Scottsdale Art Auction sales room on Saturday, April 2, 2011, in Scottsdale, AZ. When the hammer fell on the last of 411 items offered, sales totaled over $15,250,000.00.

Top lot for the auction was Thomas Moran’s oil, Indian Summer, Green River, WY (estimated at $3,500,000 to $5,500,000) that was fiercely contested by two telephone bidders before it fetched $4,159,000 to a buyer in the room. Other lots of special interest included Frederic Remington’s 27 inches by 40 inches oils, Pretty Mother of the Night-White Otter is No Longer a Boy, (estimated at $1,500,000 to $ 2,500,000) that brought $1,583,000 and The Wolves Sniffed Along the Trail but Came No Nearer, (estimated at $800,000 to $1,200,000) that reached $1,471,000; Charles M. Russell’s 20 ¼ inches by 30 inches watercolor, Turning the Leader, (estimated at $150,000 to $250,000) hammered down for $460,000.

The morning session was highlighted by G. Harvey’s cover painting, Mountain Mist, oil, 38 inches by 30 inches (estimated at $50,000 to $75,000) that brought $103,500 and Wet Weather Morning, oil, 20 inches by 16 inches (estimated at $15,000 to $20,000) that sold for $27,600. With 90% of the first session lots selling to an enthusiastic crowd the stage was set for an afternoon featuring works by the Taos Founders, Cowboy Artists of America and legendary paintings and sculpture by Russell, Remington and Moran.

Notable achievements included Bert Phillips’ 24 inches by 20 inches oil, Song of the Yellow Flower, (estimated at $250,000 to $350,000) that sold for $322,000; Ernest Blumenschein’s White Sun, 20 inches by 16 inches, oil (estimated at $250,000 – $350,000) that brought $287,500 and a small, 10 inches by 7 inches oil by William Gollings (estimated at $40,000 – $60,000) that fetched $80,500.

Among contemporary Western masters, Tom Lovell stunned the crowd with Bad Face Strategy, oil, 24 inches by 36 inches (estimated at $125,000 – $175,000) that sold for $402,500 and Lewis and Clark Keep Their Journals, a 20 inches by 36 inches oil (estimated at $100,000 – $150,000) that brought $253,000. Other contemporary paintings of note included Howard Terpning’s Blackfeet Among the Aspens, oil, 46 inches by 26 inches (estimated at $225,000 $325,000) that hammered for $281,750; Robert Griffing’s Into the Unknown, oil, 30 inches by 50 inches (estimated at $60,000 – $90,000) that hit $161,000 and Melvin Warren’s A Cold Day on the North Bosque, oil, 36 inches by 60 inches (estimated at $70,000 – $90,000) that brought $149,500. John Coleman led all sculptors when his Explorer Artist Series, complete set of ten bronzes (estimated at $225,000 to $275,000) reached $299,000 and Frederic Remington’s iconic Bronco Buster, (estimated at $75,000 to $125,000) sold for $138,000.

With 86% of the 411 items sold, seventy-five lots exceeded the high estimate and the total sale exceeded the total low estimates by 18%. Over 400 potential bidders in the room and a telephone bank of 10 operators keep auctioneer Troy Black on his toes for over six hours. Scottsdale Art Auction has clearly emerged the leader among auction houses for American Western, sporting and wildlife art.

For a complete list of all sales results visit (www.scottsdaleartauction.com). Sale date for 2012 has been set for Saturday, March 31, 2012.

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Tags: Charleston Art Auction, Charleston SC, Jack A. Morris Jr., Morris & Whiteside Galleries, Scottsdale Art Auction, Scottsdale AZ, Visiting Charleston SC, Visiting South Carolina
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The Day of April Fools and the Broad Street Art Walk in Charleston, SC

Tuesday, April 5th, 2011

April 1st for us started on March 31, 2011, at about 10:15pm when we loaded up the April 2011 issue of Carolina Arts on our website at (www.carolinaarts.com) – all 71 pages of it. By midnight I had sent out an e-mail message to our growing list, posted notices on both our blogs, Carolina Arts Unleashed and Carolina Arts News, as well as making posts on our Facebook pages. At that point our job was done for another month and it was off to the races for May’s issue.

Well, we actually got to go to bed for a few hours. The morning was spent dealing with all the return e-mails, with comments, a few problems, and some congratulations. The day soon turned to the normal operating procedures – more e-mail, processing press releases and photos, and answering a few people’s questions who are already thinking about the May issue.

Unlike some publications that throw a party every time they produce an issue – we go back to work.

In the old days, I would be heading for bed by 4pm to get up about 10 or 11pm to head out on one of my delivery routes – driving all night from city to town to city, dropping off papers at the door fronts of galleries, museums, art centers and tourism welcome centers. By the afternoon I would be back at home – reload the car, pack my breakfast and lunch, head back to bed to start the cycle all over again for four days. But, these days, once the paper is finished and launched it’s just another day at the computer. I miss my trips, but I’m finding other ways to get my road miles in – like actually going to galleries, museums and art centers – while they are open and writing blog entries about what I saw there.

And one of the benefits of this change is that Linda and I were going to be able to go to our first First Friday art walk on Broad Street in downtown Charleston, SC. In the past, once every blue moon a first Friday might fall on the 6th or 7th of the month, but depending on when we got the printed paper – I could still be on the road, so we were not getting to many art walks. Which was a shame as we, through Charleston Arts, our first version of our arts newspaper helped start the thing off in Charleston.

Just before we were about to leave the house to head for Charleston I got a call from our biggest supporter, Morris Whiteside Galleries on Hilton Head Island, SC, which was strange as we knew they were in Scottsdale, AZ, for their annual art auction in that city. I can’t go into the call’s details, but it was about a BIG problem with the April issue and they weren’t too happy. I could see my biggest supporter slipping away, but within a few sentences I stopped my caller and asked if he wasn’t making a fool of me and he couldn’t hold it back. Unfortunately for him and fortunately for me I had read an e-mail earlier in the day which usually goes to Linda from one of the other partners and everything was fine. It also helped that they have tried these crank calls a few times before and after all it was April 1st – the foolin’ didn’t last too long.

He had me for a few seconds, but I’m a natural born skeptic and as my old priest said a long time ago – I was named well – after the apostle known as “Doubting Thomas”. He always said I asked too many questions.

The good news today as I’m writing this is that the Scottsdale auction did over $15 million in sales. That’s no joke. But, I have to say, it’s nice that everyone in the art world is not always so serious. People can be professional and serious and have fun too.

But getting back to Apr. 1st, after my heart rate returned to normal, we got in the car and headed toward Charleston, which is usually a little more than an hour’s ride from the headquarters of Carolina Arts on the shores of Lake Moultrie.

I was giving us an hour and a half for good measure and once we hit I-26 around North Charleston we soon realized we were going to be late. It was the Cooper River Bridge Run weekend – cars were stacked up flowing into downtown Charleston. We were trapped in the slow moving parking lot until we got to a spot where I could turn off the main roads – East Bay, Meeting, and King Streets (in this case King Street). But having lived in Charleston for a third of our lives in this area we soon got to the Broad Street area – 30-40 minutes before most other cars in those lines would weaving through the back streets. And, we found a good parking space to boot.

The first place I wanted to stop at was Smith Killian Fine Art, which is not on Broad Street and not part of the Broad Street art walk, but I knew they were having an opening for the exhibit, Intersections: Figurative Works by Shannon Smith, featuring a solo exhibition by gallery artist Shannon Smith, on view through Apr. 30, 2011. She is one of my favorite artists. I love the way she paints light.

Work by Shannon Smith from the exhibit.

But on the way, I noticed that the door was still open over at Nina Liu and Friends, a few doors down State Street from Smith Killian, so we stuck our heads in the door and as usual Nina Liu was showing off her new exhibit, Icons for Meditation, featuring works by papermaker Arthur McDonald, which wouldn’t officially open until Sunday, and would be on view through Apr. 30, 2011.

You see in Charleston, traditionally – things are done differently than anywhere else. Galleries are so condensed throughout the downtown area and parking is spread out throughout the downtown area that even if one area is having an art walk – all galleries in town may have their doors open and even when they are not open – people will knock on your door or ring your doorbell until you do open. If you’re downtown and you find a good parking space – you want to see all that you can.

Work by Arthur McDonald

In Nina Liu’s case – her gallery is officially open until 5pm on a Friday and at 6pm – she still wasn’t able to close her door as people just kept coming and going. Just when you think the last person was going – another couple or group would stick their head in the door – “Are you open?” As a veteran of 25 years of managing an art gallery in Charleston, Liu knew she had no choice and was even gracious enough to be running up and down her stairs to bring a glass of wine to unexpected visitors. This was an opportunity for people who might not come back to Charleston for a Sunday reception to see Arthur McDonald’s show and Liu has a reputation of going all out for her artists.

Work by Arthur McDonald

In fact, Liu actually retired two years ago and has been trying to sell her gallery/home in this historic district of Charleston, but in this housing market downturn has had no luck. Frankly, we don’t want her to leave, but if you would like to live in historic Charleston or would like to have a ready-made art gallery you could live in – give her a call at 843/722-2724. She’s had another home waiting for her for two years South of the Border. Perhaps you can help her leave, but like this evening – she just doesn’t seem to be able to close the door on this chapter of her life.

Soon we head back to the plan – Smith Killian Fine Art, the home to the most talented family in Charleston – Betty Anglin Smith, and her grown triplets – Jennifer Smith Rogers, Tripp Smith, and Shannon Smith. Tonight the spotlight was on Shannon. This exhibit was the first time an entire collection of oil paintings exploring the figure was being presented by this artist. And, with most of her works – it’s the glow of the lighting she paints which draws people to what might be considered ordinary scenes and subjects.

Before our stay at the gallery is finished I made the mistake which has probably been made a thousand times in addressing Jennifer as if she was Shannon. After all they are two of triplets, but it’s no big deal to them at this point in their lives. They’re both very attractive, talented and poised. Their mother taught them well. Tripp Smith – he’s easy to spot – he has a beard.

This is Jennifer Smith Rogers, not Shannon – notice her name tags – I didn’t.

It’s been a while since we’ve had the opportunity to socialize in Charleston’s gallery community so I was surprised to see a very abstract painting by Betty Anglin Smith. It seems mom still has a few tricks left to show us and if you’ve followed my writings you know how much I like abstract art. Betty does what might be called abstracted realism paintings – works with loose strokes, but plain enough to see what the work is, (Shannon’s works in this exhibit were like this too – abstracted realism) but in this case she had let loose and gone totally abstract.

Both Linda and I really liked this work, Currents III. My photo doesn’t do it justice. If you like abstracts, go see this fast before Linda and I find a way to put a second mortgage on the house.

Currents III by Betty Anglin Smith

I’m not trying to take any of the spotlight away from Shannon’s show – her works are fantastic and they’ll be moving out the door pretty fast too, but I just get excited when I see well done abstracts. Most people can’t see the beauty of abstracts – they want them to mean something or represent something – like the public expects from all art. They just can’t see and enjoy the combination of colors and strokes placed on a canvas. They’re always looking for something in what you might call missing the forest to see a tree. So, I admire an artist who ventures into the world of abstracts, knowing that the potential for sales is much lower and when they are done well – I can’t keep my eyes off them. I call it the curse of William Halsey, but I thank William every time I see a good abstract – his works opened my mind.

I might be getting off track here – what else is new, but I think this is a good time to say – Eva’s back! I’m referring to Eva Carter, another great abstract painter who closed her gallery in Charleston a few years ago to settle into painting at her Wadmalaw Island home and studio. I don’t blame her one bit, but she recently opened a small studio at 6 Gillon Street, just around the corner from where her gallery was on East Bay street – now the home of Mickey Williams Studio-Gallery. I haven’t been able to catch her there yet, but I will. Yes I will.

OK – Broad Street Art Walk. Broad Street, once the home to Charleston’s lawyer community has become the home of a dozen or so art galleries. The lawyers, who make too much money in my opinion, but thank your lucky stars if you know a good one when you need one, have grown out of most of the smaller Broad Street spaces and have moved to towering palaces throughout Charleston. These Broad Street galleries, most members of the French Quarter Gallery Association (started 18 years ago), decided that four art walks a year were not enough so they started presenting art walks every first Friday of the month, so that during some months the French Quarter Gallery Association and Broad Street Gallery Row art walks are happening at the same time and during the month of November, it’s the Gallery Row and the Charleston Fine Art Dealer’s Association sharing a first Friday art walk. It’s quite a gallery community that can host three gallery groups – all in a four square block area.

I see another side track ahead. I almost forgot to mention this, but when I was at Nina Liu and Friends, Liu handed me an old copy of Charleston Arts, Vol. 5, No. 11, our Mar. 1993 issue. I know the copy well. The headline is – “French Quarter Gallery Association Forms”. The article goes on to talk about how the group came together and that their first art walk would take place on May 14 and 15, 1993 (not a first Friday). I say I know it well like I know the history of the FQ. You see we helped the group get started, I designed it’s first logo, I used to layout their invitations and got them printed and distributed them to the galleries and around Charleston. We even ran free ads to promote the art walks for years. So some of you might be a little confused when I said in the previous paragraph that the FQ was only 18 years old.

You see, some folks decided to celebrate the FQ’s 2Oth anniversary a few years back. I didn’t make a big fuss about it then and I won’t now, but I wouldn’t take any part in it. The economy was crashing and they felt they needed a little boost to celebrate – hoping to bring people into the galleries. I wonder if they’ll do it again in 2013 or will they shoot for a 25th anniversary? I’ve told you before – running a gallery and keeping the doors open – is a tough business. And most art communities don’t have to deal with someone who has been around as long as I have and has an archive of accurate records of what took place – and when it took place. Most people writing about the arts today weren’t even here five or ten years ago. Most were still watching the Smurfs 20 years ago. That’s right, I’m old.

Nina Liu wants me to write a book about Carleston’s art community – more like a history of what was going on during the years we’ve been publishing an arts newspaper here. It would make for some interesting reading. A few chapters would be revealing, to say the least, and I might do it – when I retire. But, until them – a few of you still have time to leave town before the truth is told. If you think I don’t pull any of my punches now – just wait. In Charleston, the truth is stranger than fiction.

Back on the main track. A few months back when we were making the transition from a printed newspaper to an electronic paper I was talking with Jerry Spencer of Spencer Art Galleries on Broad Street. He mentioned that it had been some time since he had seen me or Linda in their gallery, which was true – for good reasons as I have explained, so we definitely wanted to change that. He and his wife Catherine have two gallery spaces, next to each other on Broad – actually South of Broad – it’s a big difference being South of Broad, just read Pat Conroy’s book. They are both gallery owner/artists – which is a trick.

Outside one of their galleries was a musician playing a guitar. Music has become one of the differences between Gallery Row art walks and FQ art walks. It’s a nice way to stop people walking the sidewalks and get them to wonder what’s going on inside the galleries – if they didn’t know about the event ahead of time. In a tourist town – that happens a lot. People can be out just enjoying walking around the city – the next thing they know – they’re in a discussion about art and maybe having a glass of wine. But not at Spencer Art Gallery. They have made the decision to return the arts walks to – all about art – not tasting wine from gallery to gallery. And, I agree on that. The art walks were becoming an event where the art galleries were throwing a party for Charleston and College of Charleston students. It was becoming less about art and more about a party. That’s changing.

As usual, when viewing lots of art all in a short span of time, I’m drawn to what is different and unusual. It might be a disservice to all the good art I see along the way, but it’s just the way I am and at Spencer Art Gallery I found two artists who’s works stood out. It’s not that they were better than others. All art is subjective to the beholder, but some items catch your attention more than others for one reason or another. The first was a display of fine art prints by Pat Van de Graff. I just don’t see fine art prints much in galleries. You see lots of paintings, crafts, and sculptures, but not that many prints. At least I don’t see them that often. I’m not talking about reproduction prints of original paintings, I’m talking about images made by fine art printing processes. Van de Graff was showing some very nice works and some other folks were in agreement with me as some were being sold – right in front of me.

The other artist who caught my eye was Uriv Petrov, a Russian immigrant who now lives in Myrtle Beach, SC. I’d swear I’ve seen his work before, but I can’t put my finger on it. It will come to me next week in the middle of doing something else.

My photos again don’t do justice, but the works are very colorful and the imagery and patterns of the works just seem to jump off the canvas into your eyes. They demand attention and the style and technique is different – something hard to pull off in a region full of talented, creative artists. Perhaps his edge is coming from a different environment – a different school of thought when it comes to art. But, this artist was untrained – maybe that was the key.

Anyway, it was a long eventful day, capping off a very long work week for us and we were headed to Myrtle Beach, early the next day, so we headed back to Bonneau.

If Linda and I could break away from our busy schedules to go see some art – so can you. You don’t have to wait for an art walk.

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Tags: Carolina Arts, Charleston SC, Eva Carter Studio, Morris & Whiteside Galleries, Nina Liu and Friends, Smith Killian Fine Arts, Spencer Art Gallery, Visiting Charleston SC, Visiting South Carolina
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A March Through SC’s Pee Dee Area – Viewing Exhibits Here, There, and Everywhere – Part One

Monday, March 21st, 2011

Linda, my better half, and I planned a grand trek to see numerous exhibits on Friday, March 18, 2011, with the end stop being the reception for the Photofabulous exhibit, the largest collection of photography on display in SC, at the Art Trail Gallery in Florence, SC, which started at 5:30pm.

The master plan was to leave Bonneau, SC, the headquarters of Carolina Arts, and head toward Sumter, SC, to see the exhibits at the Sumter County Gallery of Art, which opened at 11am. So we left at 9am to make sure we were there on time.

From Sumter it would be a mad dash to Hartsville, SC, to squeeze in the door of the Black Creek Arts Center which closed at 1pm. That meant we had to leave Sumter before noon and hope we didn’t get stuck behind a farmer on his tractor on a winding two-lane road. While in Hartsville we would also take in the exhibit at Coker College.

From Hartsville, we would move on to Darlington, SC, to check out a couple of commercial galleries and then move on to Florence for the BIG show.

That was the plan.

To Linda’s credit, who worked a 12 hour shift on Thursday, we were driving away from our headquarters by 8:58am – a good sign. And as it turned out we arrived in Sumter a lot earlier than I expected. It’s been a few years since Sumter was on our delivery route and I expect to travel slower during the day than at night. So we had bonus time in Sumter.

No problem – we headed over to USC-Sumter to the University Gallery, located in the Anderson Library, to see Doni Jordan’s exhibit, doni jordan: tomes, on view through April 12, 2011.

When you see one image that is sent to you to represent an exhibit, it can really taint your expectations of what you will see. The written words in a press release can fill in some of the blanks, but not much. I had the impression that the exhibit would be different combinations of old printer type in window boxes – not so. There was plenty of that but much more.

I took a few photos, but the gallery space has museum lighting – which is good for getting up close to works but not good for photography and when works are behind glass or Plexiglas – flash photography is just another problem.

Part of the exhibit was a display of old typewriters – which could be considered museum pieces now, since most people under 25 probably haven’t seen many around. It won’t be long before computer keyboards are in the same boat.

In fact, many things in this exhibit will age the person who recognizes the items included. A lot of the items assembled are no longer used – replaced by new technology or soon will be – including the books which may have been made using these old tools of typography. But, Jordan makes creative use of them in making statements in her assembled works – including wood and metal type, tin type photos, binding thread, spools, and small books – with an occasional message spelled out in the mix.

You can read more in our March 2011 issue of Carolina Arts. Tick-Tock – time to move on.

We’re standing at the door of the Sumter County Gallery of Art at the Sumter County Cultural Center, at 11am, but the door is locked. Five minutes later the door is still locked. We can see through the door and people are working down a long hallway in the Patriot Hall part of the building. When we arrived I saw people unloading something at a side door so I go around, go in and find someone in the Gallery shop and ask if they are open. They are and I tell them the gallery door is still locked. I wish I had a nickel for every time that has happened over the years.

The Sumter County Gallery of Art may still have a name connected to the past, but their gallery space rivals any at art museums in the Carolinas. It’s why they can attract top tier artists to exhibit in Sumter. That’s not a slap at Sumter – more at top tier artists. You’ll be able to see that in the photos I was able to take.

I came to see the exhibits: Joe Walters: A Mid-career Retrospective, featuring a major exhibition of sculpture and works on paper by Charleston, SC-based artist Joe Walters and Anne Lemanski: Touch and Go, featuring a selection of her highly crafted sculptural works that utilize familiar forms to explore the inconsistencies and contradictions she sees in the world, from our culture’s treatment of women to its exploitation of both domesticated and wild animals. Both exhibits are on view through April 22, 2011.

If you can’t get to Sumter and you’re closer to Charleston, the Corrigan Gallery in Charleston is showing, A Riff on Nests, featuring sculptures and works on paper by Joe Walters, his first show in Charleston in many years – showing works in the same style as those being shown in Sumter. This exhibit is up through March 31, 2011.

This is a detail shot of a larger work.

I’ve always liked Walters’ animal installations and this is a little different – more flora than fauna, but in the same style where the sculptural works have the look of years of built up rust – in brown or gray.

The works on paper have the same rusty brown color and a rough surface – also implying age.

The works cry out to be touched, but please don’t. Like all things in nature – they are better off viewed from a distance than having humans touch them in our often rough and destructive ways.

Anne Lemanski: Touch and Go, is a good match for Walters’ exhibit as her works also show man’s “destructive” effects on animals.

Her work 21st Century Super Species: Jack-dor, dominates the display of animals who, in the form Lemanski presents, show how they might have adapted under man’s reign on this planet. This rabbit creature stands 8 feet tall, has a 10 foot wingspan and is composed of many parts from other animals. The creature brings up the thought – Is this what man will have to deal with in the future if he doesn’t clean up his act and clean up the environment of this planet? According to Darwin – the animals will adapt. Of course we will too as we are just another animal.

All of these creatures, that may seem like familiar animals, have adapted bright colors or a sort of camouflage and all give off the message – man beware – even the look on a giant golden frog’s head is menacing.

Lemanski also offers a display of hairstyles of women from different decades – a commentary on how women were perceived.

One hairstyle was titled, 1960 Occupation: Housewife, was pink and resembled the logo for the movie Hairspray. You might see women wearing these dos on the popular TV show Madmen. Another, titled 1940 For The Boys, may have represented the style women wore in the war factories while their men were off fighting WWII. There were two badges or buttons on the piece which showed 40′s style pinup gals.

We have more about these exhibits in our March 2011 issue of Carolina Arts.

Before we left the Sumter County Gallery of Art we walked down the hallway where we could see people working through the door when we couldn’t get in, and they were hanging a quilt show that was going to be at the Patriot Hall Galleries – just for that weekend.

Quilt #143 – “Hanging Gardens of Bobbi Ann” by Barbara Fitzsimmons

Detail of Quilt #178 – “Fish of Another Color” by Thomasyne Martin

This was going to be the 3rd Swan Lake Quilt Guild Quilt Extravaganza. The guild has 85 members and is growing. I took a few quick photos, but the lighting was not as good there, and we were on the run. Carolina Arts is making a lot of contacts with quilt guilds it seems, but most seem to be a little shy in dealing with us – as if they are not sure we would be interested. One of our favorite works of art in our collection is an art quilt from a friend who unfortunately lives in Virginia or you’d be seeing lots of her works in our paper. Tick-Tock!

The race is on to Hartsville – a town I haven’t been to in a least a decade if not longer. Fortunately, we run into no tractors on the road – a few old geezers in pickup trucks, but no big delays and we get there in time. As we are walking through the doors of the Black Creek Arts Center I see that they are now open until 2pm on Fridays. Of course that may have been their hours for some time now, but we had 1pm in our records. It’s corrected now.

No harm, no foul, except there were a couple of interesting places we would have stopped at as we passed through Bishopville on the way. I guess that will have to wait for another trek.

The Black Creek Arts Center is showing The Pate Family Art Exhibit, featuring works by 14 members of this family spanning four generations. It began with Wilhelmina Stucky Pate, and the exhibit is on view in the Jean & James Fort Gallery through April 29, 2011.

Pate Family Tree

That’s a big family of artists and they do everything, paintings – big and small, photography, stained glass, jewelry, and architectural models. And, it seems they all work in various mediums. Makes you wonder if there is something like an art gene.

“On the Way to St. Simons” by Charles Pate Jr.

Most of the Pate family works are pretty straight forward – there’s not many hidden meanings or messages here. That was a good thing as viewing this exhibit was sandwiched in between two exhibits where you had to put your thinking cap on.

“Quiet Power” by Martin Pate

It has to be nice to come from an art family, having access to all that experience and knowledge. I guess it could be a problem if you didn’t really want to be an artist, but who doesn’t – right. Well, I might want to a little, but I’ve seen enough to know it’s no cake walk.

We have more info about this exhibit in our March 2011 issue of Carolina Arts.

We went upstairs at the Arts Center and found a lot more art on display and I guess a photography exhibit, but there wasn’t any formal info – these works may always be on display. I can hear people say – “Why didn’t you ask?” And, I don’t ask, as I expect things to be clearly marked or explained – I know lots of people won’t bother to ask so I want to see how each exhibit space handles such things.

It’s like unpriced art. If I have to ask, I’m not interested – even if I can afford it. I don’t have to worry about that these days – I’m in the selling mode more than buying.

It was upstairs where I saw a new form of photography. Our background is in photography, but photography is one of the few art mediums that seems to be ever changing. There were a couple of “photographs” by Suzanne Muldrow on the wall that when I looked at them my first question is – “How is this a photograph?” But, I was to learn about that later at the BIG photography exhibit. These images looked like drawings and I didn’t see anything that would have looked like photography. I couldn’t take a photo as the lighting was bad and the work was behind glass. It was the first of many new things I was going to learn about photography this day.

The Black Creek Arts Centers seems to be set up to do all things in the arts – exhibits, performances, and education – with lots of classroom spaces. It’s probably quite a beehive of activity for the Hartsville area.

When we left the building I snapped a photo of the outside and later learned that the artwork out front was a sculpture display of old saw blades by Mike Fowle, who we had featured when I was last in Florence to see exhibits. Of course Hartsville is his and Patz Fowle’s hometown.

We drove over to Coker College, just a few blocks away from the Arts Center, parked and ate the lunch we brought with us – what a nice day – spring was in bloom and the weather was great.

The exhibit, Heather Freeman: Digital and Traditional Media, is on view through March 25, 2011, at the Cecelia Coker Bell Gallery in the Gladys Coker Fort Art Building.

In the literature offered in the gallery it says that Freeman has been interested in science since she was a child. She is particularly interested in the language and symbolic forms of science and where these intersect with mythic, religious and popular iconography.

This was an exhibit where you were going to have to read a lot of offered materials to get the message the artist was hoping to get across to the viewer or not. Freeman might be just as happy with whatever you came up with – which I’m sure is different with every viewer.

The written materials also stated that Freeman was an assistant professor of digital media at the University of North Carolina, but finding the digital media was a trick in many of the images offered.

The tags on the works listed the media as digital print on watercolor paper, with added ink, graphite and watercolor. To me, digital print would mean some sort of photographed image was involved – whether it be a straight photograph or a copied or captured image from another photograph. But in Freeman’s images I would say the digital image represented at best 20 – 30% of the image and the rest was drawn in with the other media. In some it was maybe 50-50.

Freeman says, “I believe science has merged with popular culture to become a covertly ‘universal’ religion.”

The titles of some of the works helped somewhat, but to me these kinds of images are not as strong without the written materials. That’s just me.

One image was titled, Grandma teach me to sleep. From that I assumed that these are images of dreams and nightmares – products of restless sleep. I’m glad my life is a lot simpler.

Later that night at the BIG photography show when someone heard that we had just seen this exhibit they asked if the gallery director gave us the “tour” – explaining what each image meant. I hope that’s not where we are headed, where everyone has to be spoon-fed the meaning of art.

Don’t get me wrong, I liked a lot of the imagery, received some strong vibes from some and was disturbed by others – which should make any artist happy. She made me think and I’ll forever blame her for that.

We have more info about this exhibit in our March 2011 issue of Carolina Arts.

Before we left Coker College I snapped a few photos of the Pearl Fryar topiary garden on the Coker campus.

Next up was Darlington, SC, to check out a couple of commercial galleries – The Chameleon Art Gallery and the Birds of a Feather Arts Gallery.

I’ve been to The Chameleon Art Gallery back when they first opened, but not since – again, during the old model for Carolina Arts, we could only afford to distribute the paper in areas we received income from – so we were not going to the Pee Dee much at all – even though I rode through the area each month on my way home from delivering in NC.

Since that time the gallery space had changed – with the times, or should I say economy? What was once a fully exhibition space was now part display, part service with a framing station and the rest was set up for teaching art classes. It was the first thing promoted to us when we entered.

A long, long time ago when we first started, I would walk into a gallery and if they had some new artsy knickknack items up for sale the gallery owner would apologize, and I would tell them, “don’t”. You have to do whatever it takes to bring in money to keep the doors open. After all, art galleries are not meant to be museums – where you just show art. If the doors are closed no artworks are on the walls, no artworks are seen and no artworks are ever purchased.

We had two art galleries that didn’t make the rent on their own in our past lives. We know how hard it is to keep the doors open and we started this paper to help galleries. Darlington is lucky to have art galleries.

We located the Birds of a Feather Gallery on our way out of the downtown area – with the help of Linda’s iPhone, but the gallery was closed at 2:25pm on Friday, even though the sign on the door said it should have been open. But, we don’t know what was going on so it was just another missed opportunity on both our parts. I could see that this gallery was also into art classes.

Hey, most of the press releases we get from the non-profit art centers and arts councils are about the classes they are offering. It’s what brings in the money.

There’s a lot of visual arts going on out there of all levels and you don’t have to go to the big city to have your brain challenged. Everything we saw could have just as well been on view in any of those big cities. So getting off the beaten path sometimes can bring rewards and discovery.

Next stop Florence – in Part Two.

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Tags: Anne Lemanski, Art Trail Gallery, Birds of a Feather Arts Gallery, Black Creek Arts Center, Cecelia Coker Bell Gallery, Charleston SC, Coker College, Corrigan Gallery, Doni Jordan, Hartsville SC, Heather D. Freeman, Joe Walters, Mike Fowle, Pate Family, Patriot Hall Galleries, Patz Fowle, Pearl Fryar, Sumter County Gallery of Art, Sumter SC, Swan Lake Quilt Guild, The Chameleon Art Gallery, USC-Sumter
Posted in Charleston SC Visual Arts, Florence SC Visual Arts, Pee Dee SC Area Visual Arts | Comments Off

Adding Kelly Thiel Studio Blog to Our Blog List

Friday, March 4th, 2011

It’s been a while since we added a new blog to our list, but this one seemed to have a lot in common with what Carolina Arts is going through – sort of a rebirth.

Kelly Thiel, a Charleston, SC, area artist has just started a re-branding of her business. Kelly Thiel Pottery & Sculpture is officially now Kelly Thiel Studio.

Re-branding – what a nice name for starting over, but it’s not really like starting over – it’s more like taking a right turn when you’ve been turning left all your life.

Recently I just “Friended” or “Liked” her Facebook page and I learned about her changes. It was nice to see how someone else was dealing with change. And, I think there is something to be learned in watching her progress. There’s a lot of change in the air – something we’re all having to learn to live with these days.

Thiel’s blog can be found at this link (http://www.kellythielpottery.blogspot.com/), her website is here (http://www.kellythielpottery.com/) and of course she’s on Facebook – you can now find her on my page and many others.

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Tags: Charleston SC, Kelly Thiel, Kelly Thiel Studio, Visiting Charleston SC, Visiting South Carolina
Posted in Blogging, Charleston SC Visual Arts, SC Visual Arts | Comments Off

The Last Bunch of Late Exhibit Arrivals for March 2011

Thursday, March 3rd, 2011

This will be the last time I’ll post press releases which came in after our deadline at Carolina Arts. We’re getting too busy dealing with info that comes in on time. So, I suggest that folks get their info to us before the 24th of the month. The only exception – will be advertisers.

Here they go:

Carolina Galleries in Charleston, SC, Features Works by Terri Katz Kasimov

Carolina Galleries in Charleston, SC, will present the exhibit, Lowcountry Series, featuring collages and abstract paintings by Terri Katz Kasimov, with an opening reception on Mar. 4, 2011, from 5:30-7:30pm.

Katz Kasimov received her Bachelors of Fine Arts in Painting from the Ohio State University and her Masters of Fine Arts from State University of New York at Buffalo. She studied under Sam Russo of Niagara Falls, NY, and David Hockney, University of California at Los Angeles as well as at Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan and La Universidad de las Americas, Mexico City, Mexico.

Katz Kasimov works in a variety of mediums. Collage, watercolor, acrylic, and even using old canvases reworked into new paintings, she is always striving to produce engaging and communicative artwork. Her artwork is represented in numerous private. corporate and museum collections throughout the world. She currently divides her time between Buffalo, NY, and Kiawah Island, SC, just outside of Charleston.

For further information call the gallery at 843/720-8622 or visit (www.carolinagalleries.com).

The Society of Bluffton Artists in Bluffton, SC, Presents a Photography Exhibit

The Society of Bluffton Artists in Bluffton, SC, is presenting the exhibit, A View Thru the Lens of Bluffton, Low Country and More, juried by Jean-Marie Cote and Donna Varner, on view through Apr. 8, 2011.

An awards presentation and reception will be held on Mar. 6, 2011, from 3-5pm.

For further information call Sandra Wenig, The Society of Bluffton Artists ( SoBA) Publicity Chairperson at 843/247-2868.

UNC Asheville in Asheville, NC, Features Works by Norma Bradley and Vicki Essig

UNC Asheville’s Blowers Gallery in Asheville, NC, will present, Intimacy and Contemplation, a new exhibit of fiber art using unique approaches that invite the viewer to share the artists’ quiet contemplative space. The exhibit, featuring works by Norma Bradley and Vicki Essig, opens Mar. 7 and will remain on view through Apr. 2, 2011. There will be a closing reception with the artists from 2-4pm, Saturday, Apr. 2, 2011, in Blowers Gallery.

Bradley incorporates photography and digital processes into her fiber art, contrasting handwork with technology. Essig weaves natural elements and small found objects into her works, playing with light and translucency, and the dichotomy between fragility and strength. The works are very distinct, but both artists incorporate elements of time, nature and contemplation.

Work by Norma Bradley

Bradley, who relocated to North Carolina from her native New York City more than three decades ago, is Director of Education for HandMade in America and is a teaching artist in the North Carolina State Visiting Artist Program. Her works hang in private and corporate collections.

Work by Vicki Essig

Essig grew up in the Rocky Mountains but now lives and maintains a studio in Asheville. She is a member of the Southern Highland Craft Guild, Piedmont Craftsmen, is a founding member of Ariel Contemporary Craft Gallery, and has taught at Penland School of Craft. Her works are on exhibit at Blue Spiral 1 in downtown Asheville.

The Blowers Gallery is located in UNC Asheville’s Ramsey Library, is free and open to the public, and is usually open 7 days a week.

For further information call 828/251-6436, or visit (http://bullpup.lib.unca.edu/library/exhibits/blowers/exhibits.html).

Dialect Design in Charlotte, NC, Presents Works by Sharon Dowell

Dialect Design in Charlotte, NC, will present the exhibit, Shift: New Works by Sharon Dowell, with an opening reception on Mar. 11, 2011, from 6-9pm.

Dowell captures the energy of place, the economic boom and downturn, and explores the theme of man vs. nature. She is interested in the documentation of memory and incorporates references to our changing political and social environment in this exhibition of paintings and installation.

Dowell is a painter residing in Charlotte and exhibiting internationally. Her work is in major collections such as the BLT Steakhouse (Ritz Carlton), Duke Energy, Fidelity Investments, and The Federal Reserve Bank. Recent shows include the Kipton art auction at Christies New York, UNC-Charlotte, and Duke University. An Arts and Science Council grant recipient, she is currently working on public art commissions for Charlotte’s light rail and Durham’s bus line. In 2010, she was in residence at NES in Skagastrond, Iceland, and will be an Affiliate at the McColl Center for Visual Art, in Charlotte, from Apr. 11 – Aug. 23, 2011.

For further information call the gallery at 704/488-6811.

Stanly Arts Guild in Albemarle, NC, Features Works by Deb Russell

The Stanly Arts Guild in Albemarle, NC, will present the exhibit, Landscapes of Lake Tillery & the Uwharries, featuring breathtaking photographic imagery of Lake Tillery and the Pee Dee River Basin by Deb Russell, on view at The Stanly County Agri-Civic Center, from Mar. 1 – 31, 2011.

Hosted by the Stanly Arts Guild, in cooperation with Falling Rivers Gallery, the exhibit features two of Russell’s metallic gallery wraps on loan from HD Photo Lab. Their glossy finish and metallic appearance result in striking three-dimensional imagery. Photographers often describe the effect as “chrome on paper.”

The fine art exhibit includes a series of nearly 20 photographs, ranging from large gallery wraps hand-crafted by HD Photo Lab, a division of Bullock Professional in Albemarle, to framed metallic prints. Anchoring the show are two large canvas wraps of ethereal Lake Tillery at daybreak: Golden Swift Island and In Morning’s Glow.

The exhibit showcases Russell’s signature approach to landscape photography, captured so powerfully in her recently released book, Lake Tillery: Our River, Our Beauty.

“I like to create images which evoke an emotional response in me,” says Russell, further elaborating on her inspirations. “Dramatic light and interesting composition drive my photography, and my appreciation of art generally. Fortunately, if you’re ready to really see them, engrossing vistas unfold before you on and around Lake Tillery, revealing themselves in surprising ways.”

Russell grew up just a few miles away from the lake in Mount Gilead, NC, and considers the area her “home turf.” She has seen her beloved Lake Tillery change over the years. It’s no longer the quiet, sparsely developed river of her youth, when most houses along its shores were simple weekend river cabins. Gone are the days when weekday boating could mean a long paddle to the shore if you ran out of gas.

Through her imagery, Russell hopes to convey – and, perhaps, to recapture – the quiet harmony and mystery of Lake Tillery, to remind busy Sunday afternoon boaters of the majesty of “our river.”

“For those with a life-long appreciation of this stretch of the Pee Dee River, I want to confirm that your river is still beautiful,” she says. “For everyone, I hope there can be a renewed or continued desire to preserve that which is close to us, so precious and delicate, and so critical to our way of life.”

Russell has worked at Bullock Professional, a pro lab in Albemarle, for the last 12 years. In that time she has complemented her artistic instincts with refined editing and post-processing skills that help her turn ordinary photographs into art.

“The masters canvas product is great for my landscapes because the Kodak metallic paper is ‘right out there,’ behind no framing glass, allowing the room light to play with all the vibrant color, contrast and depth in the paper,” she says. “In one of my graphic bridge shots, the morning sun hitting the glistening water is so much more enhanced by the reflective properties of the metallic paper. It brings additional life and pop to the sunlight as the viewer moves to examine at different angles. I know I smiled when I first saw that one in the lab.”

All photographs in the exhibit are available for sale by contacting Anita Ammerman of the Stanly Arts Guild by calling 704/982-0924. More of Russell’s art, including her book, are on display at Falling Rivers Gallery, a cooperative of local artists, in downtown Albemarle.
The Stanly Arts Guild and their Falling Rivers Gallery is sponsored in part by the Albemarle Improvement LLC, the Stanly County Arts Council, and the Grassroots Arts Program of the NC Arts Council, a state Agency.

For further information call the 704/983-4278 or visit (www.fallingriversgallery.com).

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Tags: Albemarle NC, Blowers Gallery. Asheville NC, Bluffton SC, Carolina Galleries, Charleston SC, Charlotte NC, Deb Russell, Dialect Design, Norma Bradley, Sharon Dowell, Society of Bluffton Artists, Stanly Arts Guild, Stanly County Agri-Civic Center, UNC Asheville, Vicki Essig
Posted in Asheville NC Visual Arts, Charleston SC Visual Arts, Charlotte NC Visual Arts, NC Visual Arts, SC Visual Arts, WNC Visual Arts | Comments Off

Nina Liu and Friends Gallery in Charleston, SC, Receives Verner Award from SC Arts Commission/Foundation

Friday, February 18th, 2011

Nina Liu outside her gallery and friend Aggie Zed (r)

OK, this is meant to be a congratulation to Nina Liu – make no mistake about that, but it is also about the SC Arts Commission and SC Arts Foundation.

I think everyone would agree that in these days of cutbacks in funding for the arts it would have been better to make the announcement of who will receive these awards and let UPS deliver them, but instead the folks at the Arts Commission/Foundation decided to play their fiddle while Rome burns. And, they’re letting visual artists have the honor of helping them raise money to put on a party, through another art auction.

If you’re of my thinking on all of this – would we expect anything else? Yes, this is exactly what I’ve come to expect from them. But, like they say – even a broken clock gets it right twice a day.

So, congratulations to Nini Liu, the woman behind Nina Liu & Friends gallery in Charleston, SC. She has served artists and the art community in Charleston for 25 years as well as doing the same in Iowa, Louisiana, California, and Michigan, before landing here in South Carolina.

Liu has been a long-time supporter of Shoestring Publishing Company, including Charleston Arts, South Carolina Arts and now Carolina Arts. She helped start the French Quarter Gallery Association, providing coordinated art walks in Charleston. We worked with her and others to make it the largest art walk in the Carolinas. Now everyone has one.

And, I know she has done a lot to help other art organizations such as the Gibbes Museum of Art, College of Charleton School of the Arts, and Spoleto Festival USA, to name a few. But most importantly for me, she has been a regular sounding board – I rarely travel to Charleston without stopping to have a short or sometimes long conversation with her.

I’m glad she got her Verner before I told that to everyone.

So, Nina Liu and her gallery will share the spotlight at the 2011 Elizabeth O’Neill Verner Governor’s Awards for the Arts (Business Category) with Carolina First Bank of Greenville, SC – that’s if our new Governor doesn’t want to take back her title from the award. I doubt she’ll show up to hand the awards out – that would seem a little hypocritical, but maybe she will- it wouldn’t be the first time for her.

As far as the other Verner Award recipients – I don’t know who most of them are – which is the way I would guess others around SC would think when they read Nina Liu’s name. I’m sure they have had similar impacts on the communities where they live – or at least we would all expect that they do or did. It helps to think of these things as regional awards to folks who have had some impact on a regional basis. Yet, I can’t help but think that some awards over the years and this year (hopefully very few of them) are self-serving by the Arts Commission – rewards to a few good friends of theirs.

All I know is – we could all use a lot more Nina Lius as friends.

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Tags: 2011 Elizabeth O’Neill Verner Governor’s Awards for the Arts, Charleston SC, Nina Liu, Nina Liu and Friends Gallery, SC Arts Commission, SC Arts Commission/Foundation, Visiting Charleston SC, Visiting South Carolina
Posted in Charleston SC Visual Arts, Commercial Art Community Helping Out, SC Arts Commission, SC Visual Arts | Comments Off

Some Articles About Exhibits Taking Place in the Carolinas Which Came In After Our February Deadline

Monday, February 7th, 2011

Some of these came in late – after our Jan. 24 deadline and a few came from folks just discovering us. Some think we should just add them to the paper – after all it’s not printed – it’s electronic, but I say no. That’s what deadlines are for and I don’t want several editions of the paper out there and people hearing about items they missed after they first viewed the paper. And, we might not always give these late articles a second life at Carolina Arts Unleashed. So people need to make that deadline.

If you haven’t seen our Feb. 2011 edition of Carolina Arts, you can find it at this link (Warning – this download can take several minutes) (http://www.carolinaarts.com/211/211carolinaarts.pdf).

Coker College in Hartsville, SC, Features Works by Koichi Yamamoto

An exhibition of prints by Koichi Yamamoto, an assistant professor at the University of Tennessee School of Art, is on view through Feb. 25, 2011, in the Cecelia Coker Bell Gallery located in the Gladys C. Fort Art Building in Hartsville, SC.

Tochika Ni, by Koichi Yamamoto, a 12″ x 24″ intaglio print

Yamamoto’s show, 00 To 10, includes a selection of intaglio prints (a printing process wherein an image is engraved or acid etched into a metal plate, inked then printed) and prints made with a monotype process, a procedure that yields only a single impression from each plate.

Merging traditional and contemporary approaches to printmaking, Yamamoto has worked with meticulous metal engravings, large-scale relief and intaglio prints. His current work is in large-scale monotypes and exemplifies a contemporary, international aesthetic developed from his upbringing in Japan and his education in Europe and North America. His prints explore issues of the sublime, memory, atmosphere, light and history through various representations of landscape.

“Surface only provides a record from recent events,” Yamamoto said. “Making critical judgments requires an understanding of what lies underneath. Addressing the landscape as subject, my work attempts to describe cross sections of history. I seek to slow down and take time for a deep level of investigation.”

Yamamoto is a graduate of the University of Alberta and Pacific Northwest College of Art. He has also studied at the Bratislava Academy of Art and the Poznan Academy of Art. His work has been included in a number of recent juried print competitions including the Boston Printmakers, the 7th Bharat Bhavan International Biennial Print Art in India and the Lujubljana International Printmaking Exhibition in Slovania. Yamamoto’s prints are in the collections of University of Hawaii at Hilo, the Vivian and Gordon Gilkey Graphic Center in the Portland Art Museum and the University of Alberta Museum and Collection.

The Cecelia Coker Bell Gallery is located in the Gladys C. Fort Art Building on the Coker College campus. Gallery hours are from 10am to 4pm, Monday through Friday, while classes are in session.

Coker College upholds and defends the intellectual and artistic freedom of its faculty and students as they study and create art through which they explore the full spectrum of human experience. The college considers such pursuits central to the spirit of inquiry and thoughtful discussion, which are at the heart of a liberal arts education.

For more information, contact Barb Steadman by calling 843/857-4199.

UNC Asheville in Asheville, NC, Features Laura Hope-Gill’s Poetry and Photographs by John Fletcher Jr.

UNC Asheville’s Ramsey Library will present the collaborative work of poet Laura Hope-Gill and photographer John Fletcher Jr., on view in Ramsey Library’s Blowers Gallery from Feb. 1- 28, 2011. Hope-Gill and Fletcher will also present a slideshow and poetry reading at 12:30pm, Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2011, in the library’s Whitman Room.

Hope-Gill and Fletcher’s book, The Soul Tree, features photographs of uniquely beautiful southern Appalachian landscapes accompanied by lyric poems, which illuminate themes of vision, faith, healing and the sacredness of nature. The Blowers Gallery exhibit will feature some of the images and poems from the book as well as more recent work inspired by The Soul Tree.

The exhibit and the slideshow/poetry reading are free and open to the public.

Hope-Gill is the Poet Laureate of the Blue Ridge Parkway and a recipient of a North Carolina Arts Council fellowship. She is also the founder and director of WordFest Poetry Festival in Asheville, and an instructor in UNC Asheville’s Great Smokies Writing Program. Fletcher is a photographer for the Asheville Citizen-Times. His 20-year career has included clients such as USA Today, The Associated Press, The Washington Post, and The New York Times.

The gallery is free and open to the public daily and most evenings.

For more information, call 828/251-6336 or visit (http://bullpup.lib.unca.edu/library/exhibits/blowers/exhibits.html).

Greenville Technical College in Taylors, SC, Features Works by Faculty of SC Governor’s School

The Department of Visual and Performing Arts at the Greer campus of Greenville Technical College in Taylors, SC, is presenting an exhibit of works by members of the South Carolina Governor’s School of the Arts and Humanities, on view through Feb. 18, 2011.

Impressive for its scope, the show includes works by photographer Carlyn Tucker, sculptor Joseph Thompson, painter Paul Yanko, ceramists Alice Ballard and Sharon Campbell, printer Katya Cohen, metals artist Ben Gilliam, and graphic designer Neil Summerour. We are pleased to showcase the creative excellence that exemplifies the commitment of arts faculty at this unique Upstate program.

For further information check our SC Institutional Gallery listings call Lisa Smith at 864/848-2044 or e-mail to (lisa.smith@gvltec.edu).

Mesh Gallery in Morganton, NC, Features An Exhibit of Iron Works

Mesh Gallery in Morganton, NC, will present an exhibition showcasing the work of Oak Hill Iron that includes both fine art and utilitarian wares titled Ironology. The exhibit will be on view from Feb. 14 through Apr. 8, 2011, with a reception taking place on Friday, Feb. 18, 2011, from 6-9pm.

Oak Hill Iron was born out of necessity and driven by true talent and sheer determination to create beautiful products. Founded over a decade ago by Dean Curfman, Oak Hill Iron produces custom ironwork that meets the needs of countless utilitarian applications as well producing works of fine art that are at home in a gallery space. Both high art and craft are integral parts of a healthy arts community and with this exhibition Oak Hill Iron will demonstrate it’s ability to wear both those hats.

Oak Hill Iron is staffed by a team of highly trained artistic craftsmen and offers a wide selection of ironwork for both residential and commercial projects. There is no job that is considered too big or too small.

As always events at MESH Gallery are free and open to the public. Appetizers (hors d’oeuvres) for this event will be provided by Mountain Burrito of Morganton. Wine will be served by Sour Grapes Wine Distribution.

There will be a free concert starting at 8pm on Feb. 18, during the reception with a performance from Pimalia recording artists Moolah Temple $tringband hailing from Jackson County, NC. The duo of Johnny Favorite & Eden Moor co-pilot their goat-drawn deathcart, trailing the detritus of Old Time, Musique Concrète, Honky Tonk, IDM, Minstrelsy, songs of wounded affection, cautionary tales for our age, and the aesthetics of the Fraternal, Temperance, and Evangelical Movements. Moolah Temple $tringband rarely makes public appearances, but the duo is pleased to be invited by MESH. One clown is merely a clown, but two clowns make a circus.

Mesh Gallery is located at 114-B West Union Street, Morganton, NC.

For further information call 828/437-1957 or e-mail to (eliot@meshgallery.com).

Charleston County Public Library in Charleston, SC, Features Works by Cheryl Baskins Butler

The Charleston County Public Library in Charleston, SC, will present the exhibit, A Day at the Zoo: Impressions of Riverbanks, featuring works by Cheryl Baskins Butler, on view in the Saul Alexander Foundation Gallery, located in the Main Branch of the CCPL system in downtown Charleston, SC, from Feb. 1 – 28, 2011.

Butler began her sketch “safaris” at the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, SC, when it first opened in the mid 70’s. Throughout the ensuing years, she has returned regularly to observe, sketch, paint and spend personal time with the Riverbanks residents. A Day at the Zoo: Impressions of Riverbanks is a compilation of paintings, collages and site sketches from her visits.
The Main Library is located at 68 Calhoun Street in downtown Charleston.

For further information call Frances Richardson at 843/805-6803 or visit (www.ccpl.org).

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Tags: Alice Ballard, Asheville NC, Ben Gilliam, Carlyn Tucker, Cecelia Coker Bell Gallery, Charleston County Public Library, Charleston SC, Cheryl Baskins Butler, Coker College, Dean Curfman, Department of Visual and Performing Arts at the Greer campus of Greenville Technical College, Gladys C. Fort Art Building, Greenville SC, Greenville Technical College, Hartsville SC, John Fletcher Jr., Joseph Thompson, Katya Cohen, Koichi Yamamoto, Laura Hope-Gill, Mesh Gallery, Morganton NC, Neil Summerour, Oak Hill Iron, Paul Yanko, Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia SC, Saul Alexander Foundation Gallery, Sharon Campbell, South Carolina Governor’s School of the Arts and Humanities, Taylors SC, UNC Asheville, Visiting Asheville NC, Visiting Charleston SC, Visiting Hartsville SC, Visiting North Carolina, Visiting South Carolina, Visiting Taylors SC
Posted in Charleston SC Visual Arts, Greenville SC Visual Arts, NC Visual Arts, Pee Dee SC Area Visual Arts, SC Visual Arts, Upstate SC Visual Arts, WNC Visual Arts | Comments Off

Charleston Fine Art Dealers’ Association in Charleston, SC, Makes Major Donation to High School Art Programs in 2011

Wednesday, January 26th, 2011

I had to learn this info on Linda’s (my better half) Facebook page. The info came all the way from California by Facebook connections back in Charleston. My press release is probably still in the mail, but we won’t make you wait for this news and a little commentary.

It’s kind of timely news. Our new governor of SC has vowed to cut the budget of the SC Arts Commission – completely. It may take her four years due to all the crying which will be going on by those who receive some of those funds from the Arts Commission. Unfortunately, everyone else in the arts will just be silent – they don’t care one way or the other – the issue has never affected them. And, now the Arts Commission will spend most of their time defending their existence and pressing their friends/recipents to do the same.

I’m not sure how the taxpayers will see this crying up against the news that many programs supporting needed social services are also on the chopping block, but I guess it’s a matter of who makes the most noise to their legislative representatives.

You’ve heard my suggestion before. Give the same amount to the arts groups that they have been getting, based on population of each county – just cut the money the staff used to exist and sell their building and equipment. I’ve never been against public funding for the arts. I just don’t think we need the SC Arts Commission at all to administer that money – at least this one. Then the Arts Commission’s share can go toward saving some of those social services.

So, here’s an example of how private businesses in the art community are helping serve the non-profit art community – without public funds or any other help form the SC Arts Commission – or respect. The Arts Commission and their friends would like you to think that all art would stop without them. That’s not true.

Here’s the news:

The Charleston Fine Art Dealers’ Association (CFADA) once again will donate funds to art programs at local public high schools. The association will donate $22,000 worth of art supplies to schools in need that participated in its Twelfth Charleston Fine Art Annual in November 2010.

Each of the following schools will receive art supplies—Academic Magnet High School, Burke High School, Charleston County School of the Arts, Garrett Academy of Technology, James Island Charter High School, North Charleston High School, R.B. Stall High School, Septima P. Clark Academy, St. John High School, Wando High School and West Ashley High School.

“This is the only organization in Charleston I know of that helps out the art programs in the schools. With the generous donations provided by CFADA, we are able to provide all students, especially those who may be disadvantaged, with high-quality materials for creating art. Students are truly benefiting from having a creative outlet through our art classes,” praises Cheryl Clair, art teacher at Wando High School in Mount Pleasant, SC. According to the National Arts Education Initiative, arts education strengthens students problem solving and critical thinking skills, which will help them in school and their professional careers. Students involved in the arts perform better in reading, social studies and math compared to their peers.

The donation is possible thanks to the generosity of CFADA artists whose creations from the Painting in the Park where auctioned off at the Charleston Art Auction (http://www.charlestonartauction.com/) on Saturday, November 6, 2010.

Since 2004, CFADA has donated more than $180,000 to local high schools, the Gibbes Museum of Art, Redux Art Center and the Studio Art Department at the College of Charleston. For more information on CFADA, please visit (www.cfada.com).

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Tags: Charleston Art Auction, Charleston Fine Art Dealers’ Association, Charleston SC, Twelfth Charleston Fine Art Annual, Visiting Charleston SC, Visiting South Carolina
Posted in Charleston SC Visual Arts, Commercial Art Community Helping Out, SC Visual Arts | Comments Off

A Trip to the Gibbes, Nina Liu and Friends, and Cone 10 Studios in Charleston, SC

Sunday, December 19th, 2010

On another bone chilling, rainy Saturday, I headed south toward Charleston, SC, this time bypassing North Charleston to head to one of the Gibbes Museum of Art’s free Community Days. Thank you, Junior League of Charleston.

You ask – don’t I have a membership at the Gibbes, or for that matter a membership at every art museum in the Carolinas? You might also ask – as a member of the press, can’t I get into every art museum in the Carolinas? – don’t they want you there? – don’t they want all the members of the media to come to their museums? Well, the answers are yes and no. You figure it out.

No, first off, getting something for free is one of the greatest feelings in the world. Most art museums in the Carolinas offer some free admission days. I like to see who comes on those days besides me. Secondly, yes, I probably could get into any art museum free, but that takes scheduling, which is hard to work out at times and I didn’t know I could make this trip until Friday evening. Thirdly, I think in our 23 years of covering the visual arts in the Carolinas I’ve earned the cost of any level of membership there is and some. And, finally, I just don’t get to go that much.

Although many people still think as an editor/publisher of an arts newspaper I get to see everything – I don’t, there is not enough time in the world. I see more than most people, but a lot less than many. But, I think lots of other folks should have an art museum membership card on them at all times. In fact they should never leave home without it.

I arrived at the Gibbes Museum of Art, located at 135 Meeting Street in downtown Charleston, just as the Blessed Sacrament School Children’s Choir was finishing and little girls were “running” everywhere keeping the security people on their toes – no running! Beside parents trying to gather their children together there seemed to be lots of couples of all ages in the galleries. There must be something about a rainy day that attracts couples to art museums. Before long the children were doing art activities and that left the art galleries to the parents, the couples and me.

In the Main Gallery was the exhibit, Art of Our Time: Selections from the Ulrich Museum of Art, which was a collection of familiar names and not-so-familiar names. On one wall was a group of what I would call the who’s who of the modern art world – Alexander Calder, Andy Warhol, Robert Motherwell, Helen Frankenthaler, Joan Mitchell, Joan Miró, and Jacob Lawrence. Looking at the works I wondered what some of these parents might be thinking. A lot of the works looked like the kind of stuff you might see in a children’s art class with the exception of the Warhol. They may have works at home – on the refrigerator – that look a lot like these works. But, then I remembered something William Halsey once said in his later years (80′s) – that he was just getting back to painting child-like with no inhibitions.

Speaking of William Halsey, the Gibbes had a nice display of his works in an area which has been used as a sort of hands-on or education area. It’s now being used as an Artist Spotlight area. A lot of folks in Charleston need to be educated about who William Halsey was and the work he left us. One of the works in this display was once featured on a color cover of Carolina Arts.

On the other side of the main room were works that looked more like art you see being made today. My favorite work of the day was a set of nine large photographs hung 3 x 3 entitled, Family Tree, by Zhang Huan, a Chinese artist who did a self portrait where he had three traditional Chinese calligraphers make kanji characters on his face – all in one day. They told traditional stories – until his face was totally covered in ink – totally.

After the children’s choir cleared out of the area where they sang, I was able to view the exhibit, J. Henry Fair: Industrial Scars. This exhibit was depressing. It’s a photographic exhibit with bird’s eye views of industrial waste areas around the country and views of the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. They are of areas we would never see driving by these industrial sites. They keep this stuff hidden. Although the images themselves are interesting and often beautiful due to the unusual colors and patterns, they are disturbing and shocking when you discover that one you are looking at is in your own backyard. I mean it – one was about 20 miles from our house.

There is a coal burning power plant right across the lake from us and one of the images was of its ash spillway. It was ugly and frightening to think that this stuff was so close to the lake, but at the same time, I sure was glad that power plant had enough power to keep our home warm during the below-freezing temps of just a week ago. It’s like no one would eat meat if they visited a slaughter house every week. There are trade-offs for everything we do, but you would hope that one day we’d learn to do things better. That’s why this country needs to develop more wind and solar power – and fast.

On that note – I was out of there.

Next, I went over to Nina Liu and Friends gallery at 24 State Street. Nina Liu is celebrating her 25th anniversary in Charleston with an exhibit of her own work. They sent a press release about her exhibit which will be in our Jan. 2011 issue of Carolina Arts, but they didn’t have any images, so I wanted to see if I could get some to use.

Usually a rainy day is not the best day to do any photography, but I knew if she had a spot outside that wasn’t being rained on, the light would be nice and even – at least that was the theory. After the shooting, we talked about what’s going on in Charleston and how fast 25 years seemed to go by. She came to Charleston two years before Linda and I started our first arts newspaper. In fact, her gallery and Lowcountry Artists Ltd. in Charleston are our oldest continuous running advertisers – both since May 1988.

While I was at Nina Liu’s a man came in looking for a special kind of pottery cup, which Liu didn’t have. We both suggested he check out Charleston Crafts, just around the corner and Cone 10 Studios at 1080B Morrison Drive. But, while he was there he found a small sculpture by Aggie Zed that he liked and purchased it. Not bad for a cold rainy day in Charleston – in this economy.

On my way out of Charleston I thought I might stop by Cone 10 Studios myself. They moved during the summer from Meeting Street to this new location – twice the size of their old gallery/studio. I had not been to the new location since they opened – except very early in the morning – long before they would be open – dropping off papers, so while I was going that way – in the middle of the day – I stopped.

Their new gallery space is very airy. Good thing too – I got my best photos of the day there. I talked with Betsey Carter and got the 10 cent tour around all the artist’s stations and some of the common areas. I’m always amazed how much space and equipment it takes beyond a spinning wheel, which is all most people think it takes to make pottery. Like most forms of art, if people knew how much equipment and process is involved in making art – they would appreciate it more.

The other nice thing about their new location is that they have lots of parking spaces. When they were on Meeting Street, you might get lucky if you could find an open space within blocks from their door. Carter says they’re calling this part of Charleston NoMo – North Morrison. A few other art related busineses are also located in the area.

If you haven’t been there yet – go by and see them. Besides being a working studio for over 20 artists, it’s a gallery and a learning center. They hold pottery classes. While I was there a few excited students came by to see works that had just come out of the kiln. What a wonderful feeling to see something you made for the first time – and it looked like work you could have found in the gallery. I’m sure they all don’t turn out that way, but what I saw looked very respectable.

Well, as with all my adventures – I needed to get back home. We have a Jan. 2011 issue to get ready.

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Tags: Aggie Zed, Art of Our Time: Selections from the Ulrich Museum of Art, Betsey Carter, Charleston SC, Cone 10 Studios, Gibbes Museum of Art, J. Henry Fair: Industrial Scars, Junior League of Charleston, Nina Liu, Nina Liu and Friends, Visiting Charleston SC, Visiting South Carolina, William Halsey
Posted in Charleston SC Visual Arts, SC Visual Arts | Comments Off

Cone 10 Studios & Gallery in Charleston, SC, Offers a Winter Wonderland Welcoming – Dec. 4, 2010

Sunday, November 14th, 2010

Betsey Carter of Cone 10 Studios, located at 1080-B Morrison Drive in Charleston, SC, (in the heart of NoMo) writes that the group has finished scraping, painting, hammering, and sawing. The wheels are turning, the kilns are firing, and the gallery is stocked with fresh new work. They’re ready to show off the fabulous new studio and gallery. So mark your calendars for Saturday, Dec. 4, 2010, from 5-9pm as a reminder to attend their Winter Wonderland Welcoming.

Cone 10 Studios & Gallery moved from Meeting Street over the summer to Morrison Street, which I’m told is the up and coming NoMo area of Charleston – North Morrison Street. At least that’s the hope as the developed area of Charleston moves into that “in-between” area known as the “neck” between North Charleston and Charleston. Out with the old industries of Charleston – In with the new residential and shopping districts. And, artist’s studios, art galleries, and artist’s colonies.

Work by Anne John

Work by Betsey Carter

Cone 10 Studios is a working studio and gallery of potters and sculptors featuring affordable and distinctive handcrafted pottery, sculpture, jewelry, handmade paper, and paintings. The gallery presents member and invitational exhibitions and the studio offers classes in wheelthrowing and clay sculpture as well as studio memberships to advanced ceramicists. Visitors are welcome to tour the studio.

Founded in 2000 by Susan Filley as Clay Works, the community gallery and work space has been home to hobbyists and professionals, those practicing forms and those nationally collected. It is a schoolhouse blend for the sharing of ideas and techniques and provides the ability for clay artists to combine the financial and physical responsibilities of firing in a gas reduction kiln. Cone 10 Studio offers memberships for studio space, classes in wheelthrowing and clay sculpture as well as exhibition events.

Work by Sally Burrell

Work by Susan Gregory

Artists with works featured at this event and on a regular basis include: Betsey Carter, Caroline Cercone, Fiorenzo Berardozzi, Susan Gregory, Anne John, Bev Ballow, Barbara Bergwerf, Arthur McDonald, Edwina Powell, Juliann Bannon, Pana Wilder, Sally Burrell and others.

For further information call 843/853-3345, e-mail at (info@cone10studios.com) or visit (www.cone10studios.com).

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Tags: Anne John, Arthur McDonald, Barbara Bergwerf, Betsey Carter, Bev Ballow, Caroline Cercone, Charleston SC, Cone 10 Studios & Gallery, Edwina Powell, Fiorenzo Berardozzi, Juliann Bannon, Pana Wilder, Sally Burrell, Susan Gregory
Posted in Charleston SC Visual Arts, Not About Seagrove Pottery, SC Pottery | Comments Off

Carolina Arts Unleashed

Archive for the ‘Charleston SC Visual Arts’ Category

Could the Charleston Art Auction One Day Top $15 Million in Sales?

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The Day of April Fools and the Broad Street Art Walk in Charleston, SC

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A March Through SC’s Pee Dee Area – Viewing Exhibits Here, There, and Everywhere – Part One

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Adding Kelly Thiel Studio Blog to Our Blog List

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The Last Bunch of Late Exhibit Arrivals for March 2011

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Nina Liu and Friends Gallery in Charleston, SC, Receives Verner Award from SC Arts Commission/Foundation

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Some Articles About Exhibits Taking Place in the Carolinas Which Came In After Our February Deadline

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Charleston Fine Art Dealers’ Association in Charleston, SC, Makes Major Donation to High School Art Programs in 2011

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A Trip to the Gibbes, Nina Liu and Friends, and Cone 10 Studios in Charleston, SC

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Cone 10 Studios & Gallery in Charleston, SC, Offers a Winter Wonderland Welcoming – Dec. 4, 2010

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