September Issue 1999
Millennium Art Show Upstairs Gallery in Tryon, NC
As the 20th century moves inexorably towards its close and
a new century dawns, the auspicious passage of time is serving
as theme for an exhibition coming soon to the Upstairs Gallery
in Tryon, NC.
Art for the Millennium opens on Sept. 17 and continues
through Oct. 16. The invitational show highlights 38 artists who
have exhibited at least twice at the gallery in the 1990's. Some
artists whose work may be familiar to regional patrons are Mark
Mulfinger, Mike Vatalaro, Jane Allen Nodine, Dale Lee McEntire,
Donna Goodman, G. Carol Bomer, Teresa Prater, Phillip Dusenbury
and Phil Garrett.
"Artists like theme shows," says Nancy Holmes, president
of the gallery's Board of Directors. "But this particular
theme has generated more excitement than usual. Everyone wanted
in on the act."
The art includes painting in a wide range of media as well
as sculpture, photography, ceramic art, fabric and glass. Each
work of art will be displayed alongside a statement describing
the inspirational connection between the art and the millennium.
For example, Ron Mosseller explains his wool tapestry of twin
comets as symbolizing "the promise of equality of the new
era of the millennium." The Lynn, NC artist is in many collections
including the North Carolina Museum of Art and The Smithsonian
Institute.
Robert Poe's photomontage, Road Cactus, is all about the
haphazard deconstruction of the environment as well as a "new
organic order." Poe, who is Associate Professor of Art at
Lander University, was recently juried into the 1999 Magic Silver
Show, an international photography competition.
And Carol Pittman's colorful graphite panels are "a homage
to the progress made by women and by art over the past 2000 years."
Pittman is a distinguished artist who teaches art history and
appreciation at the University of South Carolina in Columbia,
SC.
An exhibition to celebrate the millennium seems appropriate for
a gallery that is poised on the threshold of major change in the
year 2000. The Upstairs is planning to increase the facility from
2,000 to 4,000 square feet. The expansion will provide gallery
space for fine art photography and regional craft as well as the
regular exhibitions of painting and sculpture which change every
five to six weeks in season.
"I think we're also celebrating the fact that the Upstairs
has made it to the millennium," says Holmes. "When the
gallery began in 1976, I doubt that anyone dreamed it would become
an 'establishment' gallery for contemporary art." Indeed,
the non-profit gallery, which is operated entirely by volunteers,
is a significant cultural organization in Tryon offering programs
as stimulating and diverse as art itself. During the month of
the millennium art show there will be a literary coffeehouse,
a Pickin' Parlor, a Spanish guitar concert and a wine tasting.
The Upstairs Gallery is located at 409 N. Trade Street (Highway
176) in downtown Tryon. Gallery hours are Wed.-Sat., noon to 3pm
and by appointment. Family Day is always the first Sun. (Sept.
19) following the opening of a show; hours are 1-4pm. Gallery
members receive regular announcements about shows and other activities
and a 10% discount on purchases of art. For information call 828/859-2828.
Mailing Address: Carolina Arts, P.O. Drawer 427, Bonneau, SC
29431
Telephone, Answering Machine and FAX: 843/825-3408
E-Mail: carolinart@aol.com
Subscriptions are available for $18 a year.
Carolina Arts is published monthly by Shoestring
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Copyright© 1999 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
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