November Issue 2001
Vista Studios in Columbia, SC, Features Group Exhibition for this Year's Vista Lights Event
Vista Studios in Columbia, SC, is participating in this year's Vista Lights with an exhibition that runs from Nov. 15 - 28. Altered Hearts is the theme of this year's show and will be held in Gallery 80808. In addition, there will be a silent auction of works by various studio artists to be held in the Atrium on the night of Vista Lights (Nov. 15) from 5-9pm. The winners of the auction will be announced at 9pm. One-hundred percent of the proceeds will go to the American Red Cross to help with the relief effort from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
The following is a description of the artists whose works will be in Altered Hearts.
Robert Allison (sculpture) graduated from the University of SC with a BA. He began studying under master sculptors Heath King, Lincoln Fox, and Eugene Daub and has achieved the distinction of studying in Italy at the Florence Academy of Art under the direction of Robert Bodem.
Allison says, "I am inspired by the beauty that surrounds me and I strive to recreate it. There is so much ugliness in the world today why should we, the artists, indulge in it. Beauty is the "passion of the moment"; it captures your imagination, evokes a magical aura, and elicits warmth. My intent is to unfold the indomitable human spirit and the majesty of the wildlife and bring all those emotions to the surface. A great piece of sculpture should entice you".
Allison's public works include Leap of Faith jumping bullfrog at the Riverbanks Zoo and Botanical Garden, Columbia, SC; For Wind and Waves proposal piece at Palmetto Richland Memorial Hospital Columbia, SC, Hammond School Columbia, SC; and Old Timey Golfer, 42" golfer in mid swing, atop a fountain at Bermuda Run Country Club, Bermuda Run, NC.
Allison's recent exhibitions include Sculpture In The South, May 2001 in Azalea Park, Summerville, SC; Gallery 80808 - Fuse Apr. 2001, Columbia, SC; Anderson County Arts Center - Design Elements, Nov., 2000, Anderson, SC; and Fontaine Gallery- featured artist in Sept. 2000 Columbia, SC.
Carol Barks (stone sculptor) begins her work with a feeling and understanding of the immense energy of the raw stone. Barks consciously pulls her thoughts back to allow the life in the stone to act upon her until there is a melding of the life in the stone and her own creative thoughts. Each sculpture is thereby a co-creation. When this experience is achieved, a balance of proportion as well as masculine/feminine life can be perceived in the sculpture.
Barks describes a sculpture that will be on display during Vista Lights, "The symbol of the circle has always represented wholeness, a completeness of things. I believe that our lives spiral around in a circle rather than play out in a straight line, circling back and completing areas that have been challenged, places where inner growth has been needed. And when we deal courageously with what life brings us and stretch our own capacity to rise to the occasion, we become stronger because of it and the circle completes itself and then moves upward in its spiral. I therefore see the lives of those lost in the horrendous events of Sept.11, 2001 as lives that at points had completeness along the way. But there are always those who will try to break the circle, those who, in their misguided thinking bow to their dark side and follow it to the extent of destroying their own lives and five thousand more with them. This sculpture is my effort to affirm life, to remind us to live consciously and to experience the wonder of life in gratitude."
Dana Blau (figure painter) graduated from Columbia College with a BA in Studio Art. Her conceptual and expressionistic paintings focus on the non-idealized, nude figure. Blau creates ambiguity through the figurative form and the surrounding environment. Her large-scale paintings draw in the viewer and allow them to feel like a part of the painting. Although she's a painter, her figures are sculptural.
Ethel Brody (painter/printmaker) graduated from Skidmore College as a designer. Her work, primarily non-objective, reflects that training. Experimentation is an important element in Brody's work as she develops an idea from concept to finished work in a variety of media.
Pat Callahan (portrait/figure artist) comes to studio art from graphic design. She holds a BFA in Communication Arts and Design from Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond. Perhaps to balance her computer-based career, Callahan works as an artist with a classical subject - the body - in the traditional media of charcoal and conte. She draws nudes and portraits from life, striving to accurately define form and weight and to capture the beauty, mystery, and emotion in her models.
Charles Dillingham is a SC native artist with
an interest in creating timeless art with modern flair. He graduated
from The SC Governor's School for the Arts in 1988 and from The
Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts (Idyllwild, CA) in 1990.
Dillingham's recent shows include: Art in the Home, Expressions
Art Exhibit, Artista Vista, Vista Lights, About Face SemiAnnuals,
3x6, Idyllwild Arts, Palmetto Tree Public Art Project, and
Classical Glass. His work can be found in several corporate
collections, such as Continental American Insurance Group and
BellSouth Incorporated. Dillingham has been the President of the
About Face Figure Study Group since 1999 and a member of the Osmosis
Painters' Group since 2000. With a foundation in realism and traditional
techniques, Dillingham has begun to explore mixed media work,
based in painting, that freely incorporates seemingly disparate
elements including trompe l'oeil, graphic design, minimalism,
abstract expressionism, iconography and imaginary text that he
refers to in terms of cooking. Like individual recipes, these
works are composed of a variety of materials and techniques that
manage to merge together into palatable creations that are more
than the sum of their parts. Dillingham says, "I feel like
this is truly self-expression, like I am actually composing images
that speak for themselves, objects that are meant to be experienced
in their own visual language, not verbal language. I'm very excited
about the possibilities of this new series, and I think my supporters
will be just as intrigued as it continues to develop."
Reuben Gambrell (painter) received a BA in Art from the University of SC, a MFA from the University of GA, and a Ph.D. in Art Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. Having taught at colleges and universities in the South and East. Gambrell has devoted much of his life to teaching art. He has been equally devoted to painting and drawing. Gambrell's work has been shown at the Metropolitan Museum, New York; the Corcoran Museum, Washington, DC; and is in the permanent collections of the Telfair Museum of Art, Savannah, GA; the Georgia State Art Museum, Athens, GA; the South Carolina State Museum, Columbia; and in numerous private collections.
Janette Grassi (painter and assemblage) is a contemporary painter and mixed media artist. Her studies include Graphic Design at the Rhode Island School of Design, Providence; Printmaking, Drawing, and Photography at Swain School of Design, New Bedford, MA; Clay Sculpture at the Factory School, Westport, CT; and Fine Arts and Liberal Arts at Webster University, St. Louis. MO. She also attended drawing seminars in Connecticut and Mexico taught by Robert Reed, a Yale University Professor. Grassi's work is represented in the collections of Savannah College of Art and Design, Columbia College, (SC), and private and corporate collections throughout the US and Europe. She is represented by Cameo Gallery, Columbia, SC.
Tonya Gregg (painter) is making her mark in SC and well beyond. Highlights of 2000 for her included participation in the group exhibition COLOR: The Chicago Black Fine Art Exhibition, sponsored by Oprah Winfrey; and a solo exhibition, aptly titled Look Here World! at the University of SC, Beaufort. Gregg holds a MFA from the University of Chicago and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Maryland Institute, College of Art. In 1999 she received an Artist in Residency grant from the SC Arts Commission. Her provocative, vibrant paintings draw from her experience of everyday, African-American life.
Robert Kennedy (painter) graduated from Clemson University in 1960 with a Bachelor's Degree in Architecture. He studied for a year in Italy at the Academia di Belle Arte, Florence, and the Universita per Straneri, Perugia. Upon returning to Columbia, Kennedy was a founding partner of the architectural-engineering firm of GMK Associates. He has served as its Design Director since 1967. He is presently exploring figurative and non-objective subjects in a combination of media.
Laura Spong (painter) is a graduate of Vanderbilt with a BA in English and Art History. Spong studied occasionally at the University of SC and Richland Art School while raising six children. She works in an abstract, non-objective mode to express ideas, thoughts, and emotions. Her work may be seen at Carol Saunders Gallery, Columbia, SC; Hoffman Design, Charleston, SC; Hodges Taylor Gallery, Charlotte, NC; and Shawn Vinson Fine Art, Decatur, GA.
Spong describes a painting that will be on display at Vista Lights, "I encountered the phrase 'green is the edge of hope' one time and I loved it. I have even used it as a title for a painting. The meaning for me has to do with that faint tinge of green you can see in the air at the very beginning of spring, even before leaves come out. That first promise of spring. In thinking about the Sept.11 attack, I chose to use green as my major color because of that phrase. What kept coming to me was the nobility of spirit and selflessness of the passengers on Flight 93 over Pennsylvania, who even as they hurdled to their own deaths thought of others. It gives me such a sense of hope about humanity as a whole and the ultimate triumph of good over evil."
Mike Williams (painter/sculptor) was born in Sumter, SC, and lived there until 1988 when he moved to Columbia. In 1979 he began fishing and hunting in and around Lake Marion and Moultrie, the adjoining swamps and rivers. He found these precious resources to be full of life, intrigue and mystery. Today he appreciates these indispensable resources even more and draws freely from his years spent exploring these places. For the past ten years, all of Williams' artwork - paintings, drawings and sculptures - have been inspired by his experiences with nature and the environment. William's hopes that through focusing his work on these life forms and environments, he might raise awareness of the beauty and importance of these places, and the need for their preservation for the future.
Vista Studios provides studio space to 13 artists and gallery space to community artists. An early project in revitalization efforts of the Congaree Vista, Vista Studios began as a joint venture of the Columbia Development Corporation and the South Carolina Arts Commission. It has matured along with the Vista into a unique and needed outlet for Columbia's visual arts.
For more information check our SC Institutional Gallery listings or call the gallery at 803/252-6134.
Mailing Address: Carolina Arts, P.O. Drawer
427, Bonneau, SC 29431
Telephone, Answering Machine and FAX: 843/825-3408
E-Mail: carolinart@aol.com
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