October 2011

701 Center for Contemporary Art in Columbia, SC, Features Exhibit of Contemporary Art

The 701 Center for Contemporary Art in Columbia, SC, will present the inaugural 701 CCA South Carolina Biennial 2011, featuring works by 23 artists and one artist team of two from South Carolina currently producing some of the most exciting contemporary art in the state. The exhibit will be presented in two parts: Part I: Oct. 6 through Nov. 13, 2011, and Part II: Nov. 17 through Dec. 21, 2011. Receptions will be held on the following days: Part I: Friday, Oct. 7, 2011, 7-9pm and Part II: Thursday, Nov. 17, 2011, 7-9pm. Admission to receptions are free for members, non-members, $5 suggested donation.

Artists living in South Carolina were eligible for the South Carolina Biennial 2011. The invited artists live across the state. Their ages range from the mid-20s to mid-70s. Eight are South Carolina natives, twelve were born elsewhere in the United States, and five were born abroad. The artists’ work presents a wide range of media, from painting, drawing, collage, photo transfer, prints, sculpture and crafts to installation, performance and more.

The artists’ selection took place through an Invitation Committee of 12 arts professionals from across the state. Each committee member was asked to select two artists for Biennial 2011 plus an alternate. Alternates replaced selected artists who either were unable to participate in the Biennial or had already been selected by another Invitation Committee member. A 701 CCA curatorial team will select works created in the past three years for inclusion in the exhibition from the selected artists.

701 CCA has opted for the current selection process for several reasons – (a) as an experiment to be reviewed afterward for future 701 CCA South Carolina Biennial exhibitions; (b) 701 CCA’s limited resources; and (c) time restraints, which made it necessary to use a speedy selection procedure.

The following list includes the artists selected and the (Invitation Committee member) who selected them: ALDWYTH (Mark Sloan), Jim Arendt (Mana Hewitt), Lucy Bailey (Joe Thompson), Alice R. Ballard (Elizabeth Keller), James Busby (Brian Lang), Shaun Cassidy (Paul Matheny), Jarod Charzewski (Karen Ann Myers), Jim Connell (Joe Thompson), Stacy Davidson (Tom Stanley), Mary Edna Fraser (Brian Lang), Gwylene Gallimard & Jean-Marie Mauclet (Frank Martin), Michael Gentry (Tom Stanley), Damond Howard (Leo Twiggs), JRenee (Tyrone Geter), Kim Ledee (Frank Martin), Peter Lenzo (Mana Hewitt), Karen Ann Myers (Mark Sloan), Jon Prichard (Frank McCauley), Colin Quashie (Tyrone Geter), Marshall Thomas (Karen Ann Myers), Chris Todd (Elizabeth Keller), Katie Walker (Paul Matheny), Thomas Whichard (Frank McCauley), and Winston Wingo (Leo Twiggs).

The South Carolina Biennial presents the first survey of contemporary South Carolina art since the fifth and last South Carolina Triennial in 2004. The Triennial was organized five times between 1992 and 2004 by the South Carolina Arts Commission and the South Carolina State Museum at the museum.

“The Triennial during its run was the most important, prestigious survey of contemporary art in South Carolina,” said 701 CCA director and board chair Wim Roefs. “Its demise was a great lost to the visual arts in our state. It put South Carolina in the odd position of not having a regular overview of some of the best art produced in the state at any given time. With the new Biennial, 701 CCA hopes to fill this void.”

701 CCA is a non-profit visual arts center that promotes understanding, appreciation and enjoyment of contemporary art, the creative process and the role of art and artists in the community. The center also encourages interaction between visual and other art forms.

For further information check our SC Institutional Gallery listings, call Wim Roefs at 803/238-2351 or visit (www.701cca.org).

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