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March Issue 2003
Gallery 2 is the Newest Art Gallery to Open in Columbia, SC's, Vista
Gallery 2, Columbia, SC's newest fine art space will feature the work of four artists, including Tom Ogburn, Stan Nimmons, Michael Bruner, and award-winning nature artist, Nancy Strailey.
Co-owners, Carolyn Powell and Bunni Crawford intend to make fine art fun and accessible. "Gallery 2 will feature world-class artists like Nancy Strailey beside talented local and regional artists," Powell said. "We want people to know that they don't have to travel far from home to find quality artwork."
"People can be intimidated by art, but everyone should have their own personal response to a piece," Crawford said. "Gallery 2 will carry a variety of work - glass, ceramics, painting, photography and sculpture. Our goal is to have an eclectic gallery filled with strong work."
Strailey, who recently moved her studio to Columbia, frequently travels to sanctuaries and nature preserves in Africa where she studies wildlife. She also collects hand-made papers from around the world, carefully carrying them back to her studio where she works with color pencils to create intimate images of lions, zebras and other African animals. Strailey also does figurative drawings of indigenous peoples on these exotic papers.
Powell said of Strailey, "Nancy's art is so popular that she has had a hard time retaining enough of her work to have an exhibition. Her originals sell so quickly that she had to hold pieces back for our show." Although the focus of Gallery 2 will always be original work, Powell says that they will be offering giclée prints of some of Strailey's originals. "They fall at a lower price point, so more people can enjoy them," Powell said. Each giclée uses digital printing techniques and pigmented inks on 100% rag archival art paper to produce a print that rivals the original in permanence and beauty.
Gallery 2 will also feature the work of painter, Tom Ogburn. A native of Kershaw County, SC, Ogburn is known for the surface and textural nuances of his paintings which are developed by layering brushwork with multiple glazes. Ogburn terms his work classic abstract expressionism, but the natural inspirations in many of his paintings can be detected.
Sculptor Stan Nimmons will be exhibiting a variety of his organic forms. Originally from Greenville, SC, Nimmons has taught art in Charleston County, SC, schools for a decade. His work has been shown in Charleston's City Gallery and at the McKissick Museum at the University of South Carolina in Columbia.
Glassblower, Michael Bruner of Blythewood, SC, works with both functional and free-flowing forms. He uses borosilicate glass, a strong heat-resistant material that requires intense temperatures, but results in delicate, yet durable pieces. Bruner is influenced by Venetian glass blowing traditions and he has studied with renowned glass artists, Robert Mickelsen and Emilio Santini.
For further information check our SC Commercial Gallery listings, call the gallery at 803/771-6123 or e-mail at (gallerytwo@aol.com).
Carolina Arts
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