December 2013

Hampton III Gallery in Taylors, SC, Features Works by John Acorn

Hampton III Gallery in Taylors, SC, is presenting John Acorn: Recent Wanderings, Past Castings and Seacoast Parings, on view through Dec. 31, 2013. A Coffee and Conversation event will be held on Dec. 7, from 11am – noon.

This exhibition is an autobiography, not of Acorn’s life events, but of his interests and musings over the past 40 plus years. His musings have contemplated the natural systems of his own backyard and the landscapes of his travels. He has puzzled over the conundrums encountered in our culture.

In chronological order. “Past Castings” was conceived and constructed first, then the “Seacoast Parings” and finally, “Recent Wanderings”. Each of the three series is constructed with Acorn’s impeccable craftsmanship, using the several materials he finds most satisfying, cast metal, nails, and wooden cut-outs.

“Past Castings” are free-standing, cast aluminum, abstract sculptures. “Seacoast Pairings” and “Recent Wanderings” both straddle the definitions of relief sculpture and painting as he subtly utilizes colors to maximize impact.

Acorn reports, “I confess to being addicted to making things.” Making things, especially things that require concentration and precision, seems to be a contemplative process for Acorn, allowing him to study and consider nature and how natural systems may apply to us human beings. Never one to crusade, his contemplations of the complex are presented in the format of the everyday as abstractions and/or symbols. His sculptures invite us to pick up the thread and begin our own musings.

Acorn, after completing a MFA at Michigan’s Cranbrook Academy of Art began teaching at Clemson University in 1961. He served as chair of the Art Department at Clemson for 21 years, retiring in 1997. Acorn has been an active artist with many commissions in public buildings across South Carolina. His latest commission (2013) is the stunning “Orbital Trio” in NOMA Square outside the Hyatt on Main Street, Greenville.

The South Carolina Arts Commission recognized his efforts as an arts advocate in South Carolina in 1998 with the Elizabeth O’Neill Verner Award. Acorn has exhibited widely and his work is included in the collections of the Greenville County Museum of Art, the Asheville Museum of Art and Charlotte’s Mint Museum of Art. Acorn received Clemson’s 2010 Distinguished Emeriti Award for his continuing commitment to the university and the community after retirement.

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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