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March Issue 2003
City Art in Columbia, SC, Presents an Exhibition by Scotty Peek
A recent MFA graduate from the Department of Art at The University of South Carolina, artist Scotty Peek explores new subject matter for his upcoming solo exhibit at City Art Gallery in Columbia, SC, titled her/my family (and other drawings). The show opens Mar. 20 and continues through May 3, 2003.
After settling into a bungalow neighborhood in north Columbia with his wife Sally, Peek has been creatively exploring the rich architectural heritage of his environment. His charcoal drawings of modest houses set against a mature natural environment, for example, demonstrate his skill at evoking a sense of history and reverence. The houses, set in overgrown foliage under the often-hard southern sun, allow Peek to press the limits of dark spaces. These houses become mysterious and beautiful in their contrasting light and shadows, but they most often become "homes."
With the new series her/my family Peek explores and celebrates the families who would live in such places. Drawing inspiration from his marriage and the larger number of relatives that came with it, Peek seeks to learn more about his new relations by drawing images based on his wife's family photo albums. In drawing the images of her relatives, he is able "to participate in her past."
He writes, "When Sally and I married, our individual families practically doubled. Folks who we will never meet, however, suddenly became vicarious loved ones. I suddenly have a grandfather, two great-grandfathers and two great-grandmothers who I will never know. Likewise, Sally will never meet or know any of my great-grandparents or my mother's father. Oddly though, and with no hesitation, we share our families and care for each other's ancestors as if there never was a time when we were not family."
Many viewers should be able to relate in a personal way to the drawings in the City Art exhibit her/my family. Though based on individuals in Peek's new extended family, the drawings lack some specificity and suggest a greater universality family friends proudly standing under the eaves of their new 1920s-era bungalow or a woman in an apron squinting at a familiar face from her comfortable front porch.
Peek attended Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, TN, where he earned a BFA, with a concentration in drawing, in 1995. In 2000 he was awarded the MFA, with a major in Drawing and a minor in 3-D Design from the University of South Carolina in Columbia, SC. He is currently the preparator at USC's McKissick Museum and an adjunct drawing instructor at the University of South Carolina. He also teaches adult drawing classes at the Columbia Museum of Art. His work has been featured in several recent Artista Vista celebrations in Columbia, and his innovative installations have become an important part of Sumter's Accessibility projects.
For more info check our SC Commercial Gallery listings, call 803/252-3613 or on the web at (www.cityartonline.com).
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