June Issue 2002
Columbia Museum of Art in Columbia, SC, Offers Two Exhibitions Featuring Watercolors for Summer Viewing
The Columbia Museum of Art in Columbia, SC, will offer the exhibitions, Masters of the American Watercolor and 25th Annual Juried Art Exhibition of the South Carolina Watercolor Society, on view from June 15 through Aug. 18, 2002
The Columbia Museum of Art is organizing an
exhibition of 11 works from the large and prestigious collection
of American watercolors at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Highlights
of the intimate exhibition are rarely seen works that include
four paintings by John Singer Sargent. Also included are works
by Winslow Homer, Childe Hassam, Reginald Marsh, Frank Benson,
William Stanley Haseltine, William Trost Richards and John Whorf.
The exhibition looks at the rise of watercolor painting in the
late 19th and early 20th centuries.
A celebrated portraitist in the medium of oil, John Singer Sargent
(1856-1925) adopted watercolor as his preferred painting medium
while traveling throughout Europe and America in the first years
of the twentieth century. Two of the works featured in the exhibition,
Venice: I Gesuati and Carrara: Lizzatori II, were produced
during Sargent's trips to Italy. His aggressive approach with
brushmarks and color, which became typical of a more modern American
watercolor style, contrasts with the conservative and reserved
English and European methods practiced by earlier artists such
as Richards, Haseltine and other adherents of realism.
Winslow Homer (1836-1910) broke from his early career as an illustrator
to produce some of the most striking watercolor images of the
late nineteenth century. In Mar. of 1881, Homer sailed for England
and settled in Cullercoats, a small fishing and artists' community
on the Northumberland coast near Tynemouth. Over the next year
Homer began working on a series of watercolors that included Tynemouth
Sands, shown in the exhibition - an image that captures a scene
from the everyday lives of members of the fishing community.
Harry Hansen, professor of art at the University of South Carolina,
serves as guest curator. This exhibition is organized by the Columbia
Museum of Art and sponsored by Blanchard Machinery Company.
The South Carolina Watercolor Society (SCWS), the largest statewide
visual artists guild, celebrates its 25th Anniversary by presenting
the 25th Annual Juried Art Exhibition of the South Carolina
Watercolor Society. Dean Mitchell, internationally recognized
artist, will select paintings for the exhibition from over 300
statewide entries. There will be $10,000 in cash awards presented
to the top 30 artists.
Currently residing in Overland Park, KS, Mitchell is a native
of Quincy, FL. He received his BFA from Columbus College of Art
and Design and subsequently worked as a leading designer for Hallmark
Cards, Inc. In 1983 Mitchell left the commercial field to pursue
the muse of realistic painting in both rural and urban America.
His efforts were recognized with membership in the American Watercolor
Society, Miniature Artists of America, Allied Artists of America,
The National Society of Painters in Casein and Acrylic, Knickerbockers
Artists, and the Sante Fe Watercolor Society, of which he was
President in 1993. In 1994 he was awarded an Honorary Masters
Degree.
In 1992 Mitchell was one of five finalists in the $250,000 Hubbard
Award for Excellence, Ruidoso, New Mexico and received the prestigious
Parks $50,000 Grand Prize for the Arts in Parks competition in
1999. In 1995 the US Postal Service commissioned Mitchell to do
a series of Jazz stamps.
Today, Mitchell's paintings may be found in not only private and
corporate collections but also the permanent collections of the
St. Louis Art Museum, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Hubbard Museum,
Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Mississippi Art Museum, Arkansas
Art Centers and others. He was featured in The Artist's Magazine,
Oct., 2000, and Mitchell said, "Ultimately it's the ability
to communicate with passion - not mere technique or subject matter
- that counts. Artists have to constantly realize that art is
a language unto itself. You'll find that artists who really went
with their hearts and went with what they believed in, those are
the artists people truly embrace and remember."
Several programs have been planned in conjunction with these watercolor
exhibitions including gallery talks and demonstrations. The schedule
is as follows: On Sat., June 22, at 2pm, Harry Hansen, guest curator
of Masters of the American Watercolor will give a gallery
talk about the exhibition. On Sat., July 13, at 1pm, Toni Elkins,
artist and SCWS member will give a gallery talk about the the
exhibit, 25th Annual Juried Art Exhibition of the South Carolina
Watercolor Society. On Sun. July 21, at 1:30pm,Clarie K. Farrell,
artist and SCWS member will give a gallery talk about the the
exhibit, 25th Annual Juried Art Exhibition of the South Carolina
Watercolor Society. On Aug., 3, at 1pm, Angela Bradburn, artist
and SCWS member will give a gallery talk about the the exhibit,
25th Annual Juried Art Exhibition of the South Carolina Watercolor
Society. On Sun., June 23, at 1pm, Harry Hansen will present
a watercolor demonstration.
For more info call the Museum at 803/799-2810 or visit (www.columbiamuseum.org).
For info on group rates and tours, call 803-343-2208.
Mailing Address: Carolina Arts, P.O. Drawer
427, Bonneau, SC 29431
Telephone, Answering Machine and FAX: 843/825-3408
E-Mail: carolinart@aol.com
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