April 2014

City Art Gallery in Columbia, SC, Offers Works by USC MFA Candidates

City Art Gallery in Columbia, SC, will present Tetralogical Progress, featuring works by Katie Boatman, Jeffrey Hodges, Shannon Lindsey, and LeeReyna Lopez Leyva, on view from Apr. 24 through May 10, 2014. A reception will be held on Apr. 24, from 5-9pm, during Columbia’s Artista Vista 2014 celebration.

Exhibition Title:

This exhibition reflects the work developed by four Master of Fine Arts candidates focusing on Studio Art at the University of South Carolina. Individually, their works are conceptually diverse. Collectively, they develop works through various painting approaches, including traditional and mixed media processes. The exhibition represents a unique culmination of experimentation and growth. This is generated from the artists’ communal dialogue and fellowship while sharing a studio warehouse. These close relationships directly influence their respective processes by means of shared inspirations, theories, and research.

The MFA candidates offered the following statements:

Katie Boatman says, “I was born and raised in Tennessee, and I received my Bachelor of Fine Art from Belmont University in Nashville. My graduate school experience has significantly influenced the evolution of my artwork, as I am always sensitive to my natural environment. It has broadened my realm of understanding and led me down a path of self-discovery, both personally and professionally. I create paintings that incorporate ambiguous and ethereal oceanic imagery to convey deeper psychological connotations and initiate critical discourse on topics of reality, origination, and the meaning of life.”

Jeffrey Hodges says, “I was born and raised in the Mississippi delta and spent most of my childhood on a farm. My father was involved in wildlife management and conservation, which granted me constant access to premier resources of wild game. At its core, the archaic intersection and spiritual kinship between man and animal is shamanic and poignant. The paintings function as manifestations of the intangible components of hunting. My images are mediums that express these dynamic experiences, which define me as an artist and human. I received my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Memphis College of Art.”

Shannon Lindsey says, “I am from a small town near Tampa, Florida and I received by Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of South Florida. Moments of friction, contamination, and overtaking between man and nature have continuously captivated my attention and imagination. Entropy affects all forms of matter through a continual flux of growth and development, erosion and decay, to regrowth and reconstruction. Using manmade construction materials fabricated to deny nature; my work identifies their unseen potential outside of their utilitarian context. My manipulation creates dramatic shifts in the material and implies that it could never revert to its original manufactured state, but simply continue to change.”

LeeReyna Lopez Leyva says, “I am from Redfield, Iowa. I received my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa. This body of work identifies the deconstruction and deterioration of the human body. In its simplest form, gender, race, class, and age are not apparent in the body. The removal of these elements leads viewers to the acknowledgement of the self within the human collective. My artistic approaches include painting, drawing, printmaking, and sculpture. My process of layering mediums relates to internal and external layers of the human form.”

For more info check our SC Commercial Gallery listings, call the gallery at 803/252-3613 or at (www.cityartonline.com).

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