November Issue 2000
Second Charleston Fine Arts Annual in Charleston, SC
The Charleston Fine Art Dealer Association, an organization of Charleston's premier art galleries, will sponsor the second Charleston Fine Arts Annual on Nov. 3-4, 2000. The two-day celebration is designed to heighten awareness of the city's distinguished arts community and is expected to attract collectors from across the country.
The weekend festivities will begin on Friday evening (5:30-8:30pm) with gallery openings. Exhibitions by leading national and international painters, sculptors, glass artists and craftsmen in a variety of media are sure to offer the discerning collector a wide selection of artwork ranging from traditional to contemporary to abstract. Complimentary transportation will run on a continuing circuit throughout the evening with stops occurring at each venue.
The Wells Gallery will host an exhibition of works by up and coming Charleston artist, Shannon Smith. An artist with an unusually keen eye for subject matter and an unrivaled sensitivity to light, Smith predominantly captures images of her native Lowcountry, Western North Carolina and still lifes in oil.
Carolina Fine Paintings and Prints will be featuring a Gallery Showcase that will highlight art of the old and new Charleston Renaissance. Included in the group show will be contemporary works by Anna Onufer, Jim Smeal, Craig Crawford, Stephen Chesley, Margaret Perry and Johnson Hagood.
The Elizabeth O'Neill Verner Gallery will present Variety. With the focus on the work of Mrs. Verner, the gallery will host an exhibition of works by contemporary American artists whose works range from realist through impressionism to abstraction. Included in the show will be works by Daphne vom Baur, Manning Williams, Lese Corrigan, Lonnie Stewart and Mary Walker.
Jerald Melberg Gallery will present a solo exhibition entitled, A New Perspective: Lowcountry Paintings, by nationally acclaimed Pennsylvania artist, Thomas McNickle. Working in watercolor and oil, McNickle's mastery of light is American Impressionist in style but incorporates a distinct modernist touch. The gallery will also have a group exhibition of gallery artists working in oil, mixed media, sculpture, metal and glass.
On view at John Carroll Doyle Art Gallery will be new works by John Carroll Doyle. A highly acclaimed Charleston artist, Doyle's oil paintings celebrate the complex beauty of the Lowcountry: graceful egrets, sun-draped gardens, jaunty blues musicians and leaping game fish.
The Charleston Renaissance Gallery will mount
a showcase exhibition, Southern Impressionism, featuring
works by William H. Johnson, Knute Heldner, and Mable Woodward.
Also on view will be Recent Works by West Fraser - oils
executed in the artist's contemporary impressionist style - as
well as a collection of pastels from the estate of Elizabeth O'Neill
Verner.
Eva Carter Gallery will be featuring a group show entitled Three
Voices of Abstraction. Included in this exhibition will be
new abstract paintings by Eva Carter, lyrical, stainless steel
sculpture by Gretchen Lothrop as well as a selection of abstract
expressionist paintings from the late William Halsey.
Coleman Fine Art will present new watercolors by Earl B. Lewis. Almost photographic in detail, Lewis' paintings achieve a wonderful sense of depth while maintaining a delicate handling of each line. His graceful depictions of the landscape of the Lowcountry are in several major private collections nationwide.
The Gibbes Museum of Art will be featuring an exhibition entitled Henry Benbridge (1743-1812): Charleston Portrait Painter. The first of its kind since the National Portrait Gallery's 1971 exhibition, this event focuses specifically on the artist's career in the South Carolina Lowcountry. Benbridge's well-trained hand and elegant, neo-classical style are represented on 32 oil on canvas paintings and 26 watercolor on ivory miniature portraits.
Saturday will feature a number of scheduled events throughout the day. Many of the artists represented by the participating galleries will be participating in a plein air demonstration along Charleston's historic Battery and White Point Gardens in the morning. The event starts at 9:45am and continues to 11:30am. Whether working in oil or watercolor, this is a unique opportunity to view and compare artists' styles and methods.
All galleries will be open during the day, and many will feature demonstrations, workshops or lectures. Gallery artists will be present at Carolina Fine Paintings and Prints, The Elizabeth O' Neill Verner Gallery and Eva Carter Gallery for conversations about their work. Among the artists continuing demonstrations will be West Fraser at the Charleston Renaissance Gallery, John Carroll Doyle at John Carroll Doyle Art Gallery and Shannon Smith at The Wells Gallery. Earl B. Lewis will give a lecture at Coleman Fine Art. Thomas McNickle will be hosting a workshop at Jerald Melberg Gallery (reservations required). Please inquire with each gallery as to their schedule of events.
The highlight of Saturday's events will be
the evening lecture at the Footlight Players Theatre at 7 pm.
This year's address will be delivered by Andrew Schoelkopf, Chief
Operating Officer of Onview.com, one of the country's leading
e-galleries. Mr. Schoelkopf was formerly President of Christie's
Internet Auctions, responsible for Internet strategy and management
of the esteemed auction house's entry into the world of online
art sales. Tickets are required (due to limited seating) for this
event and may be purchased from any of the participating galleries.
Proceeds from this event will benefit the Gibbes Museum of Art.
Prior to the lecture, the Gibbes will host an informal cocktail
party starting at 5:30pm for ticket holders of the lecture to
welcome the speaker to Charleston.
For further information, contact Hume Killian, President of the
Charleston Fine Arts Dealer Association and Director of the Wells
Gallery at 843/853-3233.
Mailing Address: Carolina Arts, P.O. Drawer
427, Bonneau, SC 29431
Telephone, Answering Machine and FAX: 843/825-3408
E-Mail: carolinart@aol.com
Subscriptions are available for $18 a year.
Carolina Arts
is published monthly by Shoestring
Publishing Company, a subsidiary of PSMG, Inc.
Copyright© 2000 by PSMG, Inc., which published Charleston
Arts from July 1987 - Dec. 1994 and South Carolina Arts
from Jan. 1995 - Dec. 1996. It also publishes Carolina Arts
Online, Copyright© 2000 by PSMG, Inc. All rights reserved
by PSMG, Inc. or by the authors of articles. Reproduction or use
without written permission is strictly prohibited. Carolina
Arts is available throughout North & South Carolina.