South Carolina State Museum 20th Anniversary Juried Art Exhibition
Contemporary South Carolina art from painting to pottery and much more is on display as the South Carolina State Museum presents its first exclusive juried show, the State Museum 20th Anniversary Juried Art Exhibition.
The show is part of the year-long celebration of the museum’s 20th anniversary, but it’s also to celebrate the latest contemporary art from across the Palmetto State, according to Curator of Art Paul Matheny.
“This show provides a unique opportunity for a large number of artists from across the state to exhibit their work and expose the public to some of the state’s most creative artists,” said Matheny.
The exhibit contains approximately 122 works of art selected by two distinguished jurors, Lia Newman, director of programs and exhibitions at Artspace in Raleigh, N.C., and Brian Rutenberg, the South Carolina artist who art enthusiasts will remember from an exhibition of his work, Brimming Tides, held at the State Museum in 2006.
The jurors selected art for the show the second week of April from entries from across the state. “We were surprised by the number of entries,” said Matheny. “We anticipated between 250 and 300 artists, but instead we had 500 enter two pieces each, so instead of 500 works of art we had 1,000.
The curator’s thoughts were echoed by Rutenberg. “The overwhelming number of artists who submitted speaks not only to the vitality of contemporary art in South Carolina but also to the way the South Carolina State Museum is perceived, as a welcome forum for all artists from every background, a range which weaves through self-taught, visionary paintings to more polished, conceptual images and everything in between. The level of quality was high and my job was not easy.”
Works in all media are included in this exhibit, said Matheny, adding “we wanted to include a very broad range of South Carolina artists in the celebration of our 20th anniversary, so we made this exhibit available as a conduit to exhibit their work to a public that may not be as familiar with their work.”
Many established as well as emerging and little-known artists are featured in this unique show, said the curator. All of the art was created within the past three years.
Works in the show include the 2006 collage “Where Were You when the Moon was Full?” by Aldwyth of Hilton Head; Lee Sipe of Columbia’s copper and wire piece “Vessel No. 60” (2006); the 2008 wood carving “Scream” by Roosevelt Wells III of Columbia; Yemassee resident James St. Clair’s 2007 acrylic on canvas painting “The Function at the Junction” and Guy Allison of Charleston’s 2007 painting “Big Blue.”
The show’s artists come from all across South Carolina, including Aiken, Newberry, Greenville, Columbia, Charleston, Spartanburg, Myrtle Beach, Hartsville, Orangeburg, Seneca, Barnwell, Santee, Clover, Greenwood, Camden, Winnsboro and Conway, among other places.
The State Museum each year makes an effort to open a new exhibit in conjunction with the annual Artista Vista spring art celebration, and the 20th Anniversary Juried Art Exhibition continued that tradition.
“I hope this show will help people recognize the diversity of artists that live in our state and we think the public will be excited by the work by these fine, folk and self-taught artists and the variety of experiences and ideas they represent,” said Matheny.
The exhibit can be seen in the Museum’s Lipscomb Gallery through Sept. 7, 2008.
Click here for more exhibits and events celebrating the Museum's 20th anniversary!