January 2011

Rick Rhodes Photography & Imaging in Charleston, SC, Features Group Exhibit

Rick Rhodes Photography & Imaging in Charleston, SC, will present the exhibit, Tiny Illustrations, featuring works by Marcus Amaker, Erin Banks, Tim Banks, Baird Hoffmire, Farrah Hoffmire, and Ben Timpson, on view Jan. 1 - 31, 2012. A reception will be held on Jan. 6, from 6-10pm.

“Tiny Illustrations is a collection of random thoughts, observations, and feelings I’ve had over the past few years,” says Baird Hoffmire. “It began with no expectations and an old sketchbook. Experimentation in Adobe Photoshop and Corel Painter led to interesting and intriguing results. I created textures by hand, rubbed surfaces, and sought out effects with a passion I hadn’t felt in quite some time. Hopefully the many layers of thought, labor, and detail shine through. Each digital piece is a culmination of methods and is, in essence, the true and original product of this process. Each work is as mixed media as you can get in nature and form. It is in the spirit of this experimentation and process that I asked some of my friends (and family, in one case), all exceptionally talented artists, to participate in this show. Though we all have a fairly diverse and distinctive style, approach, and view, I think the collective pieces maintain the initial concept.”

Ben Timpson was born in Utah and has since lived in Idaho, Wyoming, Michigan, Nevada, Missouri, and now Charleston. As a classically trained painter, Timpson has an attuned sense of composition and color. He has simply turned from the canvas to the world of natural beauty and miniature compositions. Throughout his artistic career, Timpson has used a variety of mediums to embody his message. He currently uses materials such as bits of flowers, insects, blood, and bone to recreate stories of images of dark mysterious beauty that unfold within him.

When he’s not daydreaming of global peace, ending world hunger, or fighting crime as a caped crusader, Baird Hoffmire is an animator, illustrator, graphic designer and exhibiting artist. He resides in Charleston with his beautiful wife, Jane and his equally lovely daughters, Sadie and Harper. With a BFA in Illustration from Western Carolina University and a BFA in Media Arts and Animation from the Art Institute of Atlanta, Hoffmire has been making a living as an artist since 2003.

Hoffmire offered the following statement, “I’ve always found stories and storytelling fulfilling. I’m inspired by how social commentary and observations about the world we inhabit can be coded into symbols, both in obvious and subtle ways. My own work is often elements from memory, emotion, and old family photos combined with my influences from comic books, pop culture, and current events. By attempting to balance wit and humor with sensitive subject matter, I hope to weave a narrative that is accessible and evocative to the viewer.”

Farrah Hoffmire is a multi-media artist and founder of Organic Process Productions (OPP). Working with her husband and co-founder Mitchell Davis, OPP has been a continuing 7 year experiment in media exploration, communication and artistic expression. Since 2005 OPP has produced award-winning documentaries, books, video projects, and multi-media events. In addition to participating in a steady stream of art exhibitions, Farrah’s video work has been featured in multiple film festivals (Langston Hughes Film Festival, American Oral History Association, New Belgium Clips of Faith Tour, Charleston International Film Festival, Ozark Hills Film Festival, among others) and the 2008 film Web of Water - an educational documentary on the South Carolina Watershed - won a PBS National Education Innovation Award. OPP also produced the Hurricane Katrina Media Tour which toured the country with independent folk-rock musician and activist, Ani DiFranco in 2007 and which featured the award winning OPP documentary - Falling Together in New Orleans.

Farrah offered the following statement, “I have always created art that is unconventional and slightly disturbing but it has mostly been unconscious self-expression without intended meaning. I think as I am getting older that is changing. I’m becoming more comfortable creating art that may bother people in a less abstract way and that has a ‘message’ in a more conventional sense. I really am quite critical, stubborn, and cynical; and art is a healthy and engaging outlet for that. I have a natural dark humor to my artistic expression and am currently concerned about human over-population and it’s consequences. You will see this exploration in my current body of work.”

Erin Bennett Banks is a local illustrator whose children’s books have earned recognition in New York Times’ Best Children’s Books, National Parenting Publications Awards, Booklist, Kirkus Reviews, School Library Journal, The Washington Post and Parents Magazine. In addition to illustrating three children’s books, Banks has created artwork for clients such as Highlights for Children Magazine, McGraw-Hill and Harvard Business Review. Her work has also made appearances at JCPenney and Bed, Bath & Beyond. Banks holds an MFA in illustration from Savannah College of Art and Design, and BA in studio art from Houghton College, NY. She lives on James Island with husband and co-illustrator Timothy Banks, two pugs and a baby.

Timothy Banks is an illustrator, artist and all-around nice guy who has worked with Nike, Marvel, College of Charleston and the Charleston City Paper. This year, his work was recognized as the Play Illustration Int’l Gold Medal Winner for concept illustration in toy design. Locally, he resides on James Island, and teaches part-time at the Art Institute of Charleston.

Marcus Amaker was born in Las Vegas and lived in England, Texas, Japan and Maryland before arriving in Charleston in 2003. He recorded his first original music at the age of 8, and began writing poetry and working in graphic design in high school. He’s published three poetry books and released eight self-produced studio albums. As a spoken word poet, Amaker has toured the country and performed for national television. His first DVD - featuring live performances and music videos - is scheduled to be released in 2012. He is currently working on a new album, “the cassette demos,” and his collages are a visual representation of his poetry and music. Amaker is also a graphic designer and editor with The Local Palate, a Charleston culinary magazine.

For further information check our SC Commercial Gallery listings, call the gallery at 843/766-7625 or visit (www.rickrhodesphotography.com).

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