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June Issue 2008
Burroughs-Chapin Art Museum in Myrtle
Beach, SC, Features Works by Jonathan Green and His Collection
Franklin
G. Burroughs-Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum in Myrtle Beach, SC,
will present the exhibit, Jonathan Green: The Artist &
The Collector, oan view from June 5 through Oct. 19, 2008.
Visitors to the Museum will not only have the delight of seeing 31 paintings by Jonathan Green, but also 40 works from Green's own art collection, allowing a rare peek into the personal tastes of this celebrated artist.
Green is a beloved South Carolina native son and the preeminent artist of the Lowcountry's Gullah culture, and this exhibition follows the Museum's immensely popular 2003 exhibit Southern Images of Faith, Family and Friends: The Art of Jonathan Green.
Green's paintings, created over three decades, feature familiar images drawn from his own personal experiences, steeped in the traditions of family, community and life in the Lowcountry. They have drawn national and international attention to the unique and tenacious Gullah culture that has enriched the coastal regions of the Southeast for centuries. Green's art captures the essence of simple acts of joy, whether dancing, fishing or walking on the beach.
Viewers will find further insight into the artist's character by seeing the works he chooses for his own collection. Green's co-collector Richard Weedman writes about the artist's formative years, noting that he was continually frustrated by major museums' lack of recognition of African American artists' work. His selections include many artists who painted during the Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) period (1935-1943). Weedman adds that "the images created by these artists . . . reflected experiences and values that spoke to Green's own sense of history and cultural identity."
Diego Rivera
Green the collector has amassed hundreds of works of art by notable and emerging artists alike. Forty of these, all by African Americans, are showcased in this exhibit, including works by Romare Bearden, William Carter, Elizabeth Catlett, David Driscoll, William H. Johnson, Jacob Lawrence, Hughie Lee-Smith and Charles White.
Green writes in his artist's statement that these works reflect "the themes of work, love, belonging and spirituality that support a home environment of space, dignity and privacy.' Moreover, he adds, they serve as inspiration to his own passion for painting and his creativity.
Major funding for Jonathan Green: The Artist & The Collector is provided by Burroughs & Chapin Company, Inc., with additional support from Beach First National Bank, BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, The Chapin Foundation, City of Myrtle Beach, Dargan Foundation and The South Financial Group Foundation.
The Franklin G. Burroughs-Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum is a wholly nonprofit institution located across from Springmaid Pier in Myrtle Beach. Components of Museum programs are funded in part by support from the City of Myrtle Beach, the Horry County Council and the South Carolina Arts Commission, which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts.
For more info check our SC Institutional Gallery listings, call 843/238-2510 or visit (www.MyrtleBeachArtMuseum.org).
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