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January Issue
2011
Hampton III Gallery in Taylors, SC,
Offers Works by Merton D. Simpson
The Hampton III Gallery in Taylors,
SC, just outside of Greenville, SC, is presenting the exhibit,
Merton D. Simpson: Paintings from 1953-2001, on view, now
extended through Feb. 5, 2011.
Simpson was born in Charleston, SC, in 1928. As a young child
he developed a passion for painting. Under the tutelage of William
Halsey, Simpson opened his first exhibition in his native city.
In 1948, Simpson arrived in New York City and studied at New York
University and Copper Union. Supporting himself with work at a
framing shop, he met important artists of the day such as abstract
expressionists Jackson Pollock and Robert Motherwell. Within a
few years he was included in shows at the Metropolitan (1952)
and the Guggenheim (1954), quickly establishing himself as a pioneer
in the Abstract Expressionist movement.
In 1963, Simpson was part of the Spiral Group, African American
artists responding to the civil unrest in America. Out of this
period, came Simpson's pivotal Confrontation paintings. Always
a consummate painter, Simpson is also celebrated as a forerunner
in dealing in African sculpture and as a professional saxophone
player.
Through Mar. 13, 2011, the Greenville County Art Museum in Greenville,
SC, in conjunction with Hampton III Gallery is presenting the
exhibit, Merton Simpson: Confrontations.
This exhibition includes fifteen paintings that Simpson created
between 1968 and 1972, all large and dramatic examples of figurative
expressionism.
One of the works on view in the Museum's exhibition is a painting
that relates to the Orangeburg Massacre, a 1968 incident in which
members of the South Carolina Highway Patrol fired into a crowd
of young people, killing three and injuring twenty-eight.
Sandy Rupp, Director of Hampton III Gallery, was involved in organizing
both exhibitions, working closely with Simpson and his New York
staff.
For further information check our SC Commercial Gallery listings,
call the gallery at 864/268-2771 or visit (www.hamptoniiigallery.com).
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