October Issue 2000
Works by Prominent Artists at Davidson County College
Davidson County Community College, in Lexington, NC, in conjunction with Arts United of Davidson County, will showcase works by nine prominent artists through Dec. The special show entitled, Point, Counterpoint, will include more than 60 pieces in both color and black & white that will be displayed in the Mendenhall Building on the DCCC campus.
"We're always seeking ways to enrich the environment of the College for our students, faculty, and staff as well as the general public," Teenie Bingham, Director, Corporate and Community Relations, says.
"We also want to help promote visual arts and art education by providing artists with a place to show their work. In collaboration with Arts United of Davidson County, we decided to establish a rotating art exhibit program for the College. Point, Counterpoint will be our first show."
Among the works of art that will be featured in the first exhibit will be five large oil paintings by Dr. Joseph Barthet. "My paintings have a musical quality about them," Barthet, a resident of Boone, NC, explains. "They are colorful, bold and bright, showing lots of movement. It's a style I've developed over the last three years and is certainly influenced by my European background."
A native of Malta - islands in the Mediterranean Sea south of Sicily - Barthet lived in Valletta, a seaport town and capital of the small country. He grew up with a paintbrush in hand, learning his craft from his father, Esprit Barthet, a renowned European artist. As a child, he entered the Government School of Art and later attended Polytechnic Institute in Malta before going on to receive certificates in art from Oxford University and the University of London. He came to the United States in 1966 on a full scholarship to Gonzaga University in Spokane, WA, and received a BA in fine arts from Florida Atlantic University.
"I started out teaching fine arts, but soon returned to college to get a Ph.D. in behavioral science from the Florida Institute of Technology. Then for 28 years I was a psychotherapist and didn't paint at all. I couldn't do both."
Then in 1993, Barthet, who is medically disabled, retired to Boone, and once again began creating works of art. His paintings are shown in national and international exhibits as well as being part of private and corporate collections.
"I paint most every day," adds Barthet, who works from Fine Art Impressions, his Boone studio. "It all depends on my mood. I've got to continue improving myself." He follows his father's basic philosophy: "It is not important to know how to do something, but it is important to strive to make what you know how to do better."
In addition to Barthet, the following eight well-known artists will be part of the Point, Counterpoint exhibition: Lauren Bobo, from West End, NC, whose artwork is in watercolor, pastel and oil; Amy Ferrari, from Orangeburg, SC, who specializes in acrylic and mixed media; photographer Carl Galie, who resides in Winston-Salem, NC; Bill Gramley, from Clemmons, NC, who paints in pastels; photographer Robyn Mann, from Tryon, NC; Trena McNabb, Bethania, NC, who specializes in acrylic painting; Bruce Meldowits, Chapel Hill, NC, who is a photographer; and Young Ohk Lee, from Seoul, Korea, who works with watercolors.
For more info check our NC Institutional Gallery
listings or contact Teenie Bingham, Director, Corporate and Community
Relations, 336/249-8186, ext. 239.
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