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August Issue 2005
Spartanburg County Museum of Art in Spartanburg, SC, Offers New Exhibitions for Summer
The Spartanburg County Museum of Art in Spartanburg, SC, is presenting several exhibitions including: FOCUS: Fabric Artists of Upstate South Carolina, on view in the Milliken and Parsons Galleries through Aug. 21, 2005; A New Direction, featuring ceramic works by Bob Chance, on view in the Burwell Gallery through Sept. 4, 2005; and The Making of Twiggy Leaf, featuring the process in making the children's books, with works by author Carol Goodwin and illustrator Thomas McDaniel, on view in the Hallway Gallery through Aug. 31, 2005.
The artists who are participating in the exhibit, FOCUS: Fabric Artists of Upstate South Carolina, have brought new directions to their quilted masterpieces by paying tribute to a member lost to Hodgkin's disease in May of 2004.
Contemporary quilt designs intrigue the eye
with unexpected colors, patterns, subjects, and trim. Each artist's
technique builds the viewer's desire to identify the reality of
the image created with a closer look, if not a touch.
A selection of the latest creations of group members pay tribute
to the vision of former member Claude Smith, the only male member
of the group during its 13 year history.
"During the latter part of his illness, Claude did a lot of sketching for possible quilts that he shared with us in the last meeting we had before his death," said group president Marilyn Wall.
FOCUS members wanted to follow through with Smith's vision. They obtained family permission, made copies of his basic designs, and added elements of each quilter's personality and expertise to create detailed works of art.
"We don't want these to look like Claude made them, but wanted to honor him by allowing his designs to influence this special group effort," said Wall.
The fabric artists did not have the opportunity to see each other's interpretation of Smith's designs until the show was hung in the galleries. Of particular interest is the pieces by two artists who chose to allow their visions to come to life within the same design.
FOCUS members include: Marge Eddy, Janet Gann, Precilla Hair, Martine House, Pat Kilburg, Marjan Kluepfel, Judy Simmons, Barbara Tennyson, and Marilyn Wall. Though several members have lived in Europe and bring international designs and themes into their creations, all currently reside in South Carolina, North Carolina, and California.
The exhibit, A New Direction, featuring works by Bob Chance provides viewers insight into the artist's development over more than 30 years working with clay. His earlier explorations, which have been displayed at dozens of solo and group exhibits across the Southeast, were primarily crafted using the ancient techniques of Raku firing.
Chance's new pieces reflect a blending of Raku and Stoneware processes which create a texturing and layering to the decorative bottles and jars in the collection.
"These vessels are a form of 3-dimensional
painting," said Chance.
The use of larger forms, 28-30 inches in height, have expanded
the artist's canvas to showcase the wide variety of influences
including travel and study of ceramics in England, Italy, and
Japan.
Carol Goodwill and Thomas McDaniel, residents of Rock Hill, SC, combined their creative interests into a series of children's books that are not only whimsical, but educational. Twiggy Leaf and friends from the Tall Pine Wood encounter similar situations that children deal with on a daily basis, such as friendship and teamwork and turn them into a learning experience.
The exhibit, The Making of Twiggy Leaf,
which is geared to a child's level of understanding, shows the
process by which the pair conceptualized Twiggy Leaf and his adventures
and transform this world into a printed publication.
The exhibit fulfills the part of the Museum's mission to make
art accessible to everyone in the county. "Children are often
overlooked when decisions are made about what to exhibit,"
says Scott Cunningham, Exhibits Coordinator for the Museum. "Our
hope is that shows like this will help to engage children in appreciating
art at an early age. We scheduled Twiggy Leaf during the
summer so that children in the Summer Camps run by the Museum
of Art, the Science Center, and the Dance Center would be able
to enjoy the work... literally on their level. We've hung this
show lower than normal so smaller folks can view the work at eye
level."
For further information check our SC Institutional
Gallery listings, call the Museum at 864/582-7616 or at (www.spartanburgmuseum.org).
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