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May Issue 2004

Sorting Out the Visual Arts in Charleston, SC, During the Spoleto Festival Season

by Tom Starland, some facts as we know it

On the Institutional Side

From May 1 to when the Spoleto Festival starts on May 28 and ends on June 13, 2004, and beyond, Charleston, SC, area will be jammed packed with visual art offerings. It's what is referred to as the Spoleto Season. And, the month of May, although crammed with the maximum 31 days, will see several month's worth of visual arts offered.

The Gibbes Museum of Art on Meeting Street will feature two exhibitions as part of the Spoleto Festival USA including: Myths and Metaphors: The Art of Leo Twiggs on view from May 18 through Aug. 8, 2004 and Rhythms of Life: The Art of Jonathan Green on view through May 28 through Aug. 29, 2004. (See article offered this month.)

Spoleto just doesn't seem to want to deal with the visual arts anymore. That's a real shame since they were doing such a good job of it, but that was years ago.

The one good thing about Spoleto's failings is that visitors will turn to the local community to get its visual art fix. And, the Piccolo Spoleto Festival's visual arts have taken up the slack, offering better and more exhibitions. And, that's OK with me.

It All Begins May 1

As always, the season starts with the annual North Charleston Arts Festival, which offers a number of visual art events. From May 1 - 8, 2004, the North Charleston Performing Arts & Convention Center Complex will be the site of several exhibitions. The highlight here is the 3rd Annual South Carolina Palmetto Hands, a statewide juried fine craft exhibition. The Festival also offers the annual Adult Fine Art & Photography Competition and Show, featuring works by area artists, as well as the annual Youth Art Exhibition. New this year, will be Welcome to Our Neighborhood, a City Beautification photo display and the first of an annual international mosaic show entitled, Piece Work: Mosaic and Assemblage of Eight Women Artists.

The Festivals' Main Event, May 1 & 2, also at the Convention Center, will offer fine arts and fine crafts booths, craft workshops and demonstrations. And, you will be able to view the newly installed outdoor metal sculpture by SC artist, Bob Doster, using an original design created with the help of students from Charleston County schools.

Another feature of the Festival will be several studio/gallery spotlight tours. On May 3, from noon-1pm, Ahern's Anvil, located on East Montague Ave, in the Olde Village of North Charleston, will offer a demonstration on wrought iron working. On May 4, from noon-1pm, Leydic Glass Design Studio, located on East Montague Ave, in the Olde Village of North Charleston, will offer a demonstration on glass blowing. And, on May 5, from noon-1pm, the CSA Gallery, located on Mall Drive, across from North Charleston City Hall, will offer a personal interview with a local period artist. All Festival events are free and open to the public.

Piccolo Spoleto Exhibits

The first thing I want to say right off the bat is - pick up a copy of the Piccolo Spoleto Festival Guide Book. It will have all the details about visual art events being offered by Piccolo. We won't have room for it all here or in this issue. There's never enough room.

In the sequel to last year's inaugural exhibit, the City Gallery at Waterfront Park, on Prioleau Street, will feature a selection of works by 29 of Charleston's most prominent artists with, Contemporary Charleston 2004. The exhibition, again curated by Brad Collins, art professor at the University of South Carolina, on view from May 27 - July 6, will include works by: Bob Snead, Max Miller, Joe Walters, Kristie Ryba, Erik Johnson, Seth Gadsden, Douglas Balentine, Jill Hooper, Mary Walker, Molly Right, David Boatwright, Tim Hussey, Tom Durham, Colin Quashie, Dorothy Netherland, Tjelda vander Meijden, Allan Wendt, Kit Loney, Yvette Dede, Herb Parker, Sara Frankel, John C. Doyle, Kim Alsbrook, Mickey Williams, Mark Sloan, Mary Edna Fraser, Tom Sully, Nancy Santos and Kevin Taylor. The exhibit also includes a living Sod Temple in front of the building by internationally known sculptor Herb Parker. This amazing structure, which features an interior labyrinth, will be sited on the Waterfront Park side of the Gallery, and is reminiscent of one he did for Spoleto Festival USA in 1997 at White Point Gardens, as part of the "Human Nature" project.

Also in the center of the City Gallery, a group of Tibetan Buddhist monks will create a sand mandala, a sacred diagram depicting the Buddha from millions of grains of dyed sand.

On the 2nd floor of the gallery you'll find works by the Piccolo Spoleto 2004 poster artist, J. Carol Gardner. The exhibit offers a collection of new works including the official Piccolo Spoleto image, La Dolce Vita. Gardner's image was selected from a statewide competition based on its design qualities and its representation of the festival.

The City Gallery at the Dock Street Theatre on Church Street will feature an exhibit of photographs by architect/photographer Sandy Logan entitled, Poetry of Ruin and Architectural Designs and Embellishments of the Lowcountry, from May 26 - June 13. The exhibit representing the "Poetry of Ruin"-the discarded physical trappings of our culture's consumption. This fascinating exhibit is juxtaposed with photographs (also by Logan) in the Dock Street Theatre's Drawing Room, focusing on the beautiful architectural embellishments of many of Charleston's historic and contemporary structures, the details that illustrate the essence of a structure and the cycle of the materials that create it.

Over at the Old Slave Mart Museum on Chalmers Street, one of the best exhibition spaces in Charleston, will be the exhibition, Jonathan Green at Work, on view from May 24 - June 13. The exhibit is an intimate and in-depth photographic exhibit by the young, critically acclaimed photographer and filmmaker, Charles Allan Smith, capturing the life and work of the famed and influential Gullah artist, Jonathan Green. The exhibit features color photographs, which convey the strikingly vivid colors of Green's paintings, and black & white photographs that reach deep into the soul of the artist. This is the same artist the Spoleto Festival is featuring at the Gibbes Museum of Art.

In addition, the exhibition will include select photographs from some of Charles Allan Smith's other Collections including the highly popular 'World In Black & White' and 'Natural Colors' series. Smith gets into the soul of the artist while capturing the vivacious colors and textures that Green has become famous for. (See article offered this month.)

The Charleston Visitor Center, on Meeting Street, will once again be the location of the, Piccolo Spoleto 20th Annual Juried Art Exhibition, on view from May 28 - June 11. Organized by the Charleston Artist Guild, this annual exhibition showcases paintings, sculptures and photography by South Carolina artists, juried by Roberta Sokolitz of Charleston. Sokolitz, an independent art curator, writer and editor, is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Pittsburgh with both a BA and a Masters in Art History. Her distinguished career includes employment by the Hirshorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, DC and by the Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston.

From May 28 - June 11, at Charleston City Hall, at the corner of Broad and Meeting Streets, will be the annual Patrcia O. Carter Memorial Exhibition. Now celebrating its 6th year, this exhibition showcases the works of physically challenged artists. Coordinated by the Charleston Artist Guild the exhibit features art works by a number of local area Alzheimers patients and works by CAG members, Frank Carney, Cisco Lindsey and Joe Nichols who are all active artists whose volunteer efforts have enabled a number of Alzheimers patients to express themselves through painting as they suffer from a progressively disabling disease.

From May 28 - June 13, the "In the Spirit" group will present the exhibit, Witness: What Are We Doing In Our World?, in the White Meeting House at the Circular Congregational Church, on Meeting Street, across from the Gibbes Museum of Art. This is the 5th year the artists of Circular Congregational Church have chosen a theme to explore their spirituality. (See article offered this month.)

Three of the big exhibitions of Piccolo Spoleto will take place outdoors.

The triathalon of these events is the annual Piccolo Spoleto Outdoor Juried Art Exhibition, which takes place at Marion Square Park, at Meeting, King and Calhoun Streets in downtown Charleston, from May 28 - June 13. This exhibition features booths filled with artworks by more than 80 award-winning artists from throughout South Carolina.

Here you can meet the artists, talk with them, and add to your art collection, all in a beautiful park setting. Marion Square is always a hub of activity and always the center of "what's happening" during the festivals. You can even learn how some of these artists create their works through daily art demonstrations, held twice a day.

This event is coordinated by Billie Sumner and Victoria Platt Ellis. How they do it every year - I don't know.

Marion Square will also be the location for the exhibition, Labyrinth at Marion Square, on view from May 28 - June 13. This whimsical, scattered-site labyrinth, created by architect Carl Janes will feature free-standing structures, each incorporating Greek or Roman mythology or children's literature.

Across Meeting Street, a little north of Marion Square, is Wragg Square, at Meeting and Charlotte Streets, the location of the Piccolo Spoleto Outdoor Crafts Fair, organized by Charleston Crafts Cooperative. During the weekends of May 28-30 and June 4-6, you will have the opportunity to check out the wares of artists and artisans from throughout the United States. Media presented ranges from traditional to contemporary expressions.

The Crafts Fairs also offer many demonstrations each day, giving visitors to the fair a look at how the magic is done.

There is a small admission to the Fairs, but if you're lucky, you can get a free by visiting a local art gallery. Free passes are sent to galleries throughout the region.

Other Institutional Exhibits

All during the month of May and through June 30, 2004, members of the Charleston Artist Guild will be showing works every weekend along the fence at Washington Square Park, on the Broad Street side, next to Charleston City Hall, in downtown Charleston. The 49th Annual Charleston Artist Guild Spring Sidewalk Show and Sale will feature works by about 25 artists offering fine art originals and prints. The hours of the show are from 10am-5pm, weather permitting. For info call Ed Scavio at CAG office 843/747-5999 or e-mail at (Escavio@aol.com) or at (www.charlestonartistguild.org).

The Redux Contemporary Art Center in downtown Charleston will still be presenting Figuration: Group Exhibition, on view through May 7. This exhibit features works by Carmen Bilton, Chris Bilton, Bill Bolton, Tom Durham, Seth Gadsden, and Max Miller.

The City Gallery, at the Dock Street Theatre, in Charleston will still be showing through May 14, Pages from an Unfinished Manuscript, featuring works of mixed media on vellum by Kit Loney.

Beyond the exhibits the Gibbes Museum of Art will be offering for Spoleto, the Museum will also offer the continuing exhibition, In Love with the Lowcountry: Photographs by Tom Blagden, Jr. and Michael Johnson, on view through June 20. This exhibition presents for the first time a dynamic, visual comparison of work by two celebrated landscape photographers.

The Saul Alexander Foundation Gallery at the main branch of the Charleston County Public Library in Charleston, will be presenting an exhibition of works by John Moore entitled, Charleston Photographs, 1978 - 2003 - A Portfolio, on view May 2 - June 30. (See article offered this month.)

The Lowcountry Heritage Society presents The Hat Man Speaks, on Sat., May 8, 2004, from 7-10pm at the Charleston Museum in Charleston. This evening of poetry and art was inspired by the Charleston Museum's show The Accessory En Vogue: The Hat. The event is open to the public and features works by Karen Larson Turner, Tom Durham, Julie Waugh, Harriet McLeod, Kevin Parent, Lese Corrigan and others.

The Commercial Gallery Scene

On May 7, 2004, from 5-8pm, the French Quarter Gallery Association will conduct one of its Art Walks, featuring over 30 commercial galleries and the Gibbes Museum of Art in a 4-block square area of historic downtown Charleston. Here you can stroll the cobbled streets and gas lit alleyways of the original walled city to discover the works of hundreds of artists representing a diverse variety of styles and mediums from traditional to contemporary. Start at any participating gallery and pick up a French Quarter Map to show your where the rest are. Artists will be on hand as well as refreshments. For further info call 843/577-7100, e-mail (julie@thewolfgallery.com) or at (www.frenchquartergalleries.com).

Of course galleries all over Charleston will be opening their doors during the Art Walk and many exhibitions you'll read about later will have their openings on this evening. You won't have to walk or drive too far before you find another gallery with doors opened wide - with people coming and going, and standing room only the norm. And, just remember, you can enjoy the party atmosphere Fri. evening and go back Sat. to view the art a little closer. Hopefully that work that caught your eye won't already be sold. You snooze you lose!

As I said, May 7, is the date of the French Quarter Art Walk, which is also the beginning of many of the exhibitions being offered by some of Charleston's commercial art galleries, but some shows open earlier.

We're going to take these in alphabetical order & by dates, and where we have articles with further info - we won't say too much and refer you to the page where the article can be found. And, we have further details about these galleries in our gallery listings in the back of the paper.

First up is Charleston Art Gallery & Portrait Studio, on North Atlantic Wharf. On view through May 31 will be, A New Point of View, featuring new works by Cecile Langham Cothran, Sandra J. Booker, Sandra Tedesco, Ray Hatfield, T.M. Tremaine, Beverly Brunswig, Peggy Bischoff, Yvonne Rousseau Bonnie Lee, and Peter Scala.

Courtyard Art Gallery, on East Bay Street, will be featuring works by Bonnie Hartnett (sculptures) and Ed Scavio (stained glass) through May 31. Both artists are new members of this gallery.

The Piazza Gallery Art & Framing in Mt. Pleasant, SC, will feature the original acrylic art of Jo Tyree of Ladson,SC, through May 31.

Art Central, Ltd., on Central Avenue in Summerville, SC, will be featuring an exhibit of photography by June Sullivan, on view through May 31.

The Spencer Art Gallery, now at 55 & 57 Broad Street in Charleston is celebrating its renovation and expansion with the exhibit, Synergy, a show of new works by the gallery's many talented artists through May 15. From May 14 - June 15, the exhibit, On Balance, will feature photographs by Dottie Dillard on the subject of Ballet. And, from May 21 - June 15, the exhibit, Different Strokes - He Painted & She Painted, will feature an exhibit of works by Scott Penegar and Kaye Penegar, a husband and wife team who have painted similar subjects - one as abstract and one as realist. (See article offered this month.)

The Waterfront Gallery on East Bay Street in Charleston will be presenting the exhibition, Tall and Stately, featuring recent works by Susan Colwell through May 31. (See article offered this month.)

Charleston Crafts, on Hasell Street, across from the Charleston Place parking garage in Charleston will be presenting from May 1 - June 30, Bunches of Bowls, featuring pottery by Selma Andrews, Nancy Badgley, Patsy Bowman, Marty Celum, Ed Bryan, Marty Celum, Celena Christos, Arden Inabinette, JoAnn Spangler, John Stoudenmire, and Annie Van Every. On May 7, from 4-8pm, the gallery will present, Piccolo Spoleto Crafts Preview Open House.

Lowcountry Artists, LTD, on East Bay Street in Charleston will present from May 1 - 29, the exhibit, Impressions of the Lowcountry, featuring pastel images of the beauty in our own backyard by Vicki Gates.

Smith Killian Fine Art will be presenting the exhibit, The Natural Landscape, where Betty Anglin Smith will offer her first collection of works in two years, from May 2 - 31. This collection of work intimately exposes Smith's relationship with the marshes surrounding her new studio in Meggett, SC. (See article offered this month.)

Dog Art Dealer on North Atlantic Wharf in Charleston, will be featuring an exhibit by Marty Whaley Adams entitled, Pet Portraits & Dog Paintings, on view from May 4 - 25. (See article offered this month.)

The Wells Gallery at the corner of Broad and King Streets in Charleston will be presenting two solo exhibitions from May 6 - 21. Portals, will feature works by Alex Zapata from Bolivia and Urban Still will feature works by Charleston painter Susan Romaine. (See article offered this month.)

Shows that Open the Day of the FQ Art Walk

From May 7 - June 30, Ann Long Fine Art on State Street in Charleston offers work by NC fresco painter, Ben Long. The exhibition will focus on the drawings and the studies for a fresco found in the Comma Theater, in Morganton, NC. Long is grandson of the noted NC artist McKendree Long. (See article offered this month.)

Brush Strokes of Charleston, featuring new works by Jan Pawlowski will be presented at Coleman Fine Art, at the corner of Tradd and Church Streets in Charleston from May 7 - 29. The show will feature plein-air oils, painted by the artist just days before the exhibit opens. (See article offered this month.)

The Ella Walton Richardson Fine Art Gallery on Broad Street in Charleston will be showcasing the exhibit, Illuminating Impressionism: California, Charleston, & Abroad, from May 7-31. The exhibit features new works by acclaimed California Impressionists, Carl Belfor and Lynn Gertenbach. This husband and wife pair have focused their artistic vision on coastal and mountainous locales near their California home, as well as inspiring landscapes from their extensive travels in Europe and Asia. Gertenbach will also conduct a workshop entitled, The Figure in Nature, from May 10 -12.

The Eva Carter Gallery on East Bay Street in Charleston will be having a special showing of Eva Carter's new work entitled, Winds of Change, from May 7 - June 13. (See article offered this month.)

Side by Side, is an exhibition featuring works by Jocelyn Chateauvert and David Ross Puls at Nina Liu and Friends Gallery on State Street in Charleston, from May 7 - June 17. (See article offered this month.)

Life After the "The" Art Walk

On Sat., May 8, from 6 - 8:30pm, Sandpiper Gallery and Susan Mayfield West Studio will host an Evening on Sullivan's Island. Sandpiper Gallery will introduce new works in oil by Hilarie Lambert and Ann Lee Merrill, plus sculpture by Julie Townsley at Sandpiper Gallery. This exhibit will be on display through June 15. At the same time on May 8, a Piccolo Spoleto preview show of Susan Mayfield West's latest work will be held in her Island Studio. This work will be on display through the opening of Piccolo Spoleto on May 28, when West moves to the show in Marion Square Park.

The 11 Eleven Salon & Gallery on Wentworth Street in Charleston will present the exhibit, Feminine Form, featuring new classic nudes with photography by E.G. Coyle from May 15 - June 15.

And to show that there is life after "The" art walk, you can join five galleries for the second King Street Art Stroll on May 21, from 6 - 8pm, in Charleston. Stroll along King Street from just south of Market Street to Broad Street to visit The Julia Santen Gallery, Carolina Galleries, The Audubon Gallery, The Sylvan Gallery and The Wells Gallery. This is a free event, open to the public, aimed at art lovers and collectors. This is the serious art connoisseur's opportunity for an evening visit to the galleries without the huge crowds rushing from one gallery to the next. (See article offered this month.)

The Audubon Gallery on King Street will present an outstanding selection of etchings of the southeastern and New England landscape by Walter R. Locke from May 21 through June 13. (See article offered this month.)

Carolina Galleries on King Street is proud to present the first solo exhibition, Atmosphere and Light, featuring works by Craig Crawford, on view from May 21 - June 14. Crawford will also be at Carolina Galleries on Sat., May 22 at 2pm to speak about his work. (See article offered this month.)

Hatfield 2 Fine Art, at the corner of Church and Queen Streets will offer an exhibition of works by Sally Smith which begins on May 21. The exhibit will including plein-air paintings from a recent trip of the Italian countryside.

The Sylvan Gallery, also on King Street, will present the exhibit, The Figure in Art, featuring works by 30 gallery artists of national and international fame, many of whom are well known locally, in the west and many new to the southeast. Included are works by Rhett Thurman, Joan Potter, Nancy Bush, William Berra, Ted Ellis, Scott Burdick, Huihan Liu, Glenna Goodacre, and others. The exhibit will be on view from May 21 - June 13.

The Mickey Williams Studio & Gallery on Broad Street in Charleston will be presenting the exhibit, Spirit of Trees, featuring new works by Mickey Williams from May 21 through June 4.

Tidwell Art Gallery on King Street will be introducing their 2004 Festival Poster by Miles Batt, as well as presenting an exhibition of watercolors by Batt and mixed media works by Irene Charles Batt from May 25 - June 30.

The Fish or Cut Bait Gallery on Edisto Island, SC, (still in Charleston County) will present the exhibit, Fish out of Water, featuring the works of, painter, Kathy Konduras, steel sculptor, Thomas Keim, and ceramic artist, Chris Rowley. Their creations featuring fish in various media opens on May 29 and runs through June 30. (See article offered this month.)

Slipping Into June

New drawings and paintings by Douglas Balentine will be on exhibit at his studio on Atlantic Street in Charleston from June 2-13. Works in Conte crayon, pen and ink, in addition to some small oils, form the body of this show which will be by appointment only. (See article offered this month.)

Final Words

There's going to be more - it just hasn't made it to my desk yet. Which means those press releases didn't make our deadine, and it probably won't make to many other deadlines either. So how important could they be?

I do know that the Martin Gallery which was located on Queen Street is moving to the corner of Broad and State Streets, in the ground floor of the Peeples Building - a very choice location. I think they will be having a grand opening featuring new works by the gallery's artists, during the FQ Art Walk on May 7.

And, finally, West Fraser will be opening a new gallery space at the corner of Queen and State Streets, called Fraser - Fox Fine Art in July. It will be good to have Fraser back among the Charleston art community.

Carolina Arts is published monthly by Shoestring Publishing Company, a subsidiary of PSMG, Inc. Copyright© 2004 by PSMG, Inc., which published Charleston Arts from July 1987 - Dec. 1994 and South Carolina Arts from Jan. 1995 - Dec. 1996. It also publishes Carolina Arts Online, Copyright© 2004 by PSMG, Inc. All rights reserved by PSMG, Inc. or by the authors of articles. Reproduction or use without written permission is strictly prohibited. Carolina Arts is available throughout North & South Carolina.