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April Issue 2007
Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston, SC, Features Works by Edward Jennings and Otto Neumann
The Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston, SC,
will present two new exhibitions including: A Lonely Soul:
The Art of Edward Jennings and Otto Neumann: Modern Expressions.
Both exhibits will be on view from Apr. 27 through July 22, 2007.
An artist of the Charleston Renaissance era (1915 - 1940), Edward
Jennings' imaginative style, characterized by his use of mythological
creatures and fanciful landscapes that verge on surrealism, set
him apart from his Charleston contemporaries. In his ten year
career, Jennings defied the conventional styles of realism and
became one of the first local artists of this period to experiment
with the abstract.
"The exhibition pays tribute to the range of creativity that Jennings expressed," says Gibbes Executive Director Todd Smith. "From the fanciful illustrations for the stage, to the cubist-inspired scenes of Paris to the completely abstracted works, the art of Jennings brings together the dominant trends in contemporary art of the late 1920s. His work provides a revealing complement to the representational and anecdotal work that his colleagues in Charleston created at the same time. The title of the exhibition, A Lonely Soul, is taken from a reference that Jennings made about himself during this period. His sadness, however, finds some solace in the imagination he plumbs for his inspiration."
Inspired by his love of theater, much of Jennings' early work consists of vibrant masks, costume and set designs. As his career evolved his artwork was increasingly influenced by Cubism, Surrealism and other modern art movements.
After serving in World War I, Jennings studied art at Columbia University in New York and the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh where he focused on theater design. Upon returning to Charleston in 1923 Jennings became actively involved in many of the local clubs; he participated in the Charleston Etchers Club and the South Carolina Poetry Society. He designed sets and costumes for local theater productions and was appointed curator of the art department at the Charleston Museum. Jennings taught art classes at the Gibbes and gave private lessons to a few select artists including a young William Halsey.
During the last two years of his life, Jennings made increasingly bold forays into modernism. His full potential as an abstract artist was never realized. In May 1929, while in his studio surrounded by his work, Jennings took his own life.
A diverse array of prints by German Expressionist artist Otto Neumann (1895 - 1975) will be featured in the Gibbes' Works on Paper Gallery, in the exhibition Otto Neumann: Modern Expressions. This group of approximately fifteen works traces the evolution of Neumann's unique depictions of the human figure. From searing scenes illustrating Dante's The Divine Comedy to delicately-layered, abstract monotype prints, Neumann's work presents a distinctly modern artistic vision. This exhibition was selected from a group of 35 works on paper donated to the Gibbes by the Rothschild family, descendents of the artist with ties to the Charleston area.
The son of renowned Heidelberg scholar Fritz Neumann, Otto Neumann grew up surrounded by the German intelligentsia. Such luminaries as Max Weber and Ernst Troeltch were close to the Neumann family. After completing his formal schooling and serving one year in the army, Neumann studied with several noted German artists then returned to Heidelberg to begin his artistic career.
Dedicated to the human form, Neumann's oeuvre reflects a number of distinct, highly articulate styles and techniques. While his work exhibits numerous parallels to major trends in twentieth-century art, Neumann's unique personal vision marks him as a radically independent artist.
This exhibition is sponsored by Ann Long Fine Art of Charleston, SC.
For further information check our SC Institutional
Gallery listings, call the Museum at 843/722.2706 or visit (www.gibbesmuseum.org).
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