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December Issue
2009
Rick Rhodes
Photography & Imaging in Charleston, SC, Features Works by
James Christopher Hill
The
gallery of Rick Rhodes Photography & Imaging, located West
of the Ashley in Charleston, SC, will present the exhibit, Mirror
the Mirror, Reflections and Ruins, featuring new paintings
by James Christopher Hill, on view from Dec. 1 through Jan. 1,
2010. Known for his vibrant and colorful paintings, it will be
the first time Hill will unveil his newest paintings of lost ruins
in a darker, more muted atmosphere and somber tone.
Born in Charleston, Hill has gained international notoriety for
his paintings by his collectors and viewers. He is best known
for painting his landscapes, seascapes and skyscapes filled with
vibrant color, swift movement and radiant energy in a contemporary
stylistic language. His work explores the use of color and
rhythm to create powerful, sweeping images that seek to provoke
a particular mood or emotion by capturing an exact moment or memory
in time that is meaningful to both him and the viewer.
The artist will be showcasing his latest works of both ultra-vibrant
and dramatic landscapes, seascapes and skyscapes along with paintings
of dilapidated ruins with a darker theme. Much like the famed
Rorschach Images used for psychological studies of the human mind,
Hill explores how our world has evolved both physically and metaphysically
as well as consciously and subconsciously. He examines our past,
present and warns of our possible destiny if we as a human race
keep heading down our current path of greed, destruction and apathy.
As a professional artist in his early twenties, Hill owned his own art gallery in downtown Charleston before deciding to acquire formal training at the prestigious Ringling School of Art and Design in Sarasota, FL. In 1998, he graduated with honors with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Computer Animation; a field that focused mainly on the understanding and discipline of master drawing and painting skills. His senior thesis entitled, Jataka took home the Gold Oscar in the category of Best Student Computer Animation in 1998 from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In 1999, Hill returned to the discipline of fine art and his work has been shown in eight galleries in Charleston.
Recently Hill has had
two successful gallery openings in the Chelsea district in Manhattan,
New York. Hill has won numerous awards in both fine art and
computer animation including the AVA, Telly and the Aurora. He
is Vice Chair on the North Charleston Arts Council and has served
as vice-chair for two art guilds in Charleston. In 2007,
he created and published his first art book entitled Skyscapes
and Landscapes.
While Hill is developing a growing number of private and commercial
collectors throughout the United States and the world; his local
commercial clientele list includes Roper West Ashley Surgery Center,
Cypress Gardens, the Folly Beach Crab Shack, Planet Follywood,
RB's on Shem Creek and the Mellow Mushroom downtown. Planet
Follywood has an outdoor mural that is over 900 square feet in
size and contains 14 life-size representations of some of Hollywood's
most famous celebrities of the 1950's. In 2006, Hill was
asked to create a 14' painting with 14 figures in homage to the
ancient Alutiiq Indian Tribe of Alaska by Alutiiq Corporation. He
has been profiled in Art is Spectrum magazine, the Post
and Courier, the Charleston City Paper and on Channel
Five's Carolina Camera. Still, Hill works every day
to try to expand his knowledge and his talents through the study
of the great masters of art throughout the ages.
For further information
check our SC Commercial Gallery listings, call the gallery at
843/766-7625 or visit (www.rickrhodesphotography.com).
Carolina Arts is published monthly by Shoestring Publishing Company, a subsidiary of PSMG, Inc. Copyright© 2009 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© 2009 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.