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January Issue
2011
Burroughs-Chapin Art Museum in Myrtle
Beach, SC, Features Works by Robert Courtright and Steven Forbes-deSoule
The Franklin G. Burroughs-Simeon B.
Chapin Art Museum in Myrtle Beach will present two new exhibits
including: Robert Courtright: Collages, Collage Construction,
and Masks, 1953-2008, on view from Jan. 16 through Apr. 28,
2011 and Serendipity: Raku by Steven Forbes-deSoule, on
view from Jan. 9 through Mar. 20, 2011.
Robert Courtright is rarely exhibited in his home state of South
Carolina and that is why the Franklin G. Burroughs-Simeon B. Chapin
Art Museum of Myrtle Beach is proud to be one of only two South
Carolina venues to showcase the major retrospective. One of the
largest most comprehensive exhibitions of his work ever mounted,
the exhibit features over 70 works, from early collages and masks
to new collage constructions made specifically for this exhibit.
An opening reception will be held on Sunday, Jan. 16, 2011, from
1-3pm, with Courtright's artist talk beginning at 1:30pm.
Courtright was born in Sumter, SC. He spent his young adult years
studying at the Art Students League and the New School for Social
Research in New York as well as St. John's College in Maryland.
After finishing up his studies, in 1949, Courtright visited Europe,
which three years later he made his home. While in Europe, Courtright
passed a shop in Nice, France where children's papier-mâché
masks caught his eye. His imagination lit up. He purchased a few
and took them to his studio to accentuate them with his artistic
mark. It wasn't until a while later that these creations were
discovered by a client of his. Creating large and small masks
is Courtright's newest artistic direction. In addition to crafting
his "faces" in a variety of sizes, Courtright varies
the material from Carrera marble to bronze to paper and more.
From 2007 to 2008, Courtright participated in the University of
South Carolina's art department's Atelier, a visiting artist program
in which artists work with master printers from the school an
interact with the students. He created a number of pieces while
at the University.
Organized by the South Carolina State Museum, this survey of Courtright's
work will captivate and inspire with pieces ranging from very
early and rarely seen architectural collages that the artist completed
just after moving to Europe to his most recent collage constructions
and masks completed in his New York City Studio.
North Carolina artist Steven Forbes-deSoule's elegant, one of
a kind, raku-fired pottery reflects the cumulative skills gained
over thirty years as a studio ceramicist. The exhibit, Serendipity:
Raku by Steven Forbes-deSoule, will include his familiar large
ovoid pieces as well as some from his new series of winged bowls
and vases. The opening reception for Serendipity will take
place on Sunday, Jan. 16, 2011, from 1-3pm, with Forbes-deSoule's
artist talk starting at 2:15pm.
Forbes-deSoule was born in Des Moines, IA, in 1946. He received
his BA in Journalism/Advertising from Drake University in 1968.
After a three year stint as an officer in the US Navy, Forbes-deSoule
pursued two brief corporate careers. In 1973, after quitting the
second corporate job, he traveled to Atlanta to visit a friend,
where he ended up staying for nearly 20 years. During that time
he attended Georgia State University where he took his first art
class ever - ceramics. Five years later he received his Masters
of Visual Arts degree with a major in ceramics. He also met and
married his wife of over 30 years, Lynn Powell-Forbes.
"The one constant with my work throughout the years has been
transformation," says Forbes-deSoule. "I find it fun
and challenging to try new things, and I especially enjoy developing
new glazes. I started firing exclusively using the raku process
in 1982 and found the element of serendipity and surprise to be
invigorating."
Forbes-deSoule recently developed a new, unique surface, which
he calls a "halo/opal" glaze. The glaze contains both
copper and silver; each piece is truly unique and reveals a wide
range of colors. Forbes-deSoule has also been incorporating melted
stained glass and colored glass rods into his work, which provides
an interesting new dimension. He believes he is using ceramic
art as a means to achieve a balance between conscious control
and the more subtle, unconscious or universal forces that permeate
our reality.
Throughout the years Forbes-deSoule has been featured in a variety
of group and solo exhibitions. His ceramics are part of numerous
corporate, private and Museum collections throughout the United
States, Canada, Europe and Japan. Currently his work is featured
at the Blue Spiral 1 Gallery in Asheville, NC, and Carolina Clay
Gallery on Kiawah Island, SC.
For further information check our SC Institutional Gallery
listings, call the Museum at 843/238-2510 or visit (www.MyrtleBeachArtMuseum.org).
Carolina Arts is published monthly by Shoestring Publishing Company, a subsidiary of PSMG, Inc. Copyright© 2011 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© 2011 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.