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March Issue 2009
Sumter County
Gallery of Art in Sumter, SC, Features Works by Kristi Ryba and
Russell Biles
The Sumter County Gallery of Art in Sumter, SC, is presenting the exhibits, Kristi Ryba: When We Were Young and Russell Biles: A Perfect? World, on view through Mar. 27, 2009.
Kristi Ryba
Kristi Ryba received
her MFA form Vermont College in 2006 and her BA from College of
Charleston in 1989. Since 1990, her work, both paintings and prints
have toured the Southeast and beyond, most recently at the Corrigan
Gallery in Charleston, SC, in her show Keeping House, and
at SOHO20 in New York in Adam's Rib Eve's Air in Her Hair....
In 2002, Ryba began making stop motion video animations and has
shown them locally and in Cutie Pie at the Hiram Van Gordon
Gallery, Tennessee State University in Nashville, TN, at Silo
Gallery in New York, at Saltworks and Get This! Gallery(s) in
Atlanta, GA.
Ryba's interests revolve around the concept of women's roles -
home, family and the domestic sphere. Her art explores how the
myths about these roles are embedded in our unconscious. The work
is comprised of many types of dolls and related objects such as
dollhouses and furniture, and more recently, manipulated family
photos, through which she examines cultural roles and relationships
related to domesticity.
Ryba states, "My life is rooted in family issues and household concerns, and these experiences shape the art making. My intent is to question the embedded attitudes, opinions and beliefs regarding the value of woman's work".
Russell Biles
Russell Biles's satirical sculpture is a combination of content, imagery, attitude and humor expressed through a visual narrative. He uses content to pit reality against preconceived beliefs. Religion and politics are favorite subjects and Biles often sides with the underdog. Recognizing that imagery is the first punch thrown by a piece of visual art, Biles confronts his audience. The viewer may walk away or be drawn in as a result of this first contact. Biles uses satirical humor to break down barriers and allow the viewer to think about ideas that can arouse strong emotions. To achieve this, he often uses iconic television shows from the sixties and seventies, such as Star Trek, The Beverly Hillbillies and Bonanza.
Biles received his Bachelor of Visual Arts Sculpture from Winthrop College in 1986. His work has been included in many national and international exhibitions including, Permanently Mad, selections from the permanent collection of the Museum of Art and Design, NYC, Oct 08, Recent Acquisitions, Mint Museum Craft + Design, Apr. 06, International Craft Biennale 2005, Cheongju Arts Center, Cheongju City, Republic of Korea, Fall 05, and A Tale to Tell, John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, WI, July 05, "SC Triennial," SC State Museum, Columbia, SC, Nov 04, "Grimms Fairy Tales Exhibition", The Society of Arts And Crafts, Boston, MA, May 04, Fuller Museum of Art, Brockton MA, May 04. Biles' work is in many public collections including Museum of Art and Design, NY, NY, Mint Museum of Craft + Design, Charlotte, NC, Greenville County Museum of Art, Greenville, SC, and Racine Art Museum, Racine, WI.
Biles states, "I am an artist who has lived my entire life in the South close to my family. Art came half way through my life, therefore my art evolved around my life rather than my life evolving around art. My artistic direction follows the philosophy of Lenny Bruce, 'The truth is what is, what should be is a fantasy; life isn't what should be, it's what is happening'."
For further information
check our SC Institutional Gallery listings, call the gallery
at 803/775-0543 or visit (www.sumtergallery.org).
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