Jasper Galleries: Ellen Yaghjian, The Newest Nook Resident by Emily Moffitt

As a member of the Vista Guild Association, the Koger Center for the Arts is proud to partner with the Jasper Project in Third Thursday Art Night. A different artist is featured every month in our rotating gallery, The Nook, with an opening reception on the month's Third Thursday. September 2024's featured artist is Ellen Yaghjian. The opening reception is on September 19, from 5:30 – 7 p.m. on the second floor of the Koger Center.

Ellen Emerson Yaghjian was born in Atlanta, GA, and grew up in Larchmont, NY. She received a BFA in sculpture from the University of Georgia and an MMA in media arts from the University of South Carolina. For ten years, Ellen worked in television production, first with South Carolina Educational Television and later as an Associate Producer at Turner Broadcasting. In 1990, she shifted her focus to sculpture. She began by designing commissioned based copper fountains for outdoor gardens and indoor offices across the southeast. In 2000, Ellen began creating figurative works with copper, hammering and heating the metal to produce sculpture reflective of the human body. She enjoys the warmth of copper and the colors that emerge through her process. During the pandemic Ellen took up painting in acrylic. Ellen resides in Columbia, SC with her husband, David.

Ellen’s Artist Statement:

“The focus of my art practice is to bring my attention to one place in time and to explore the ideas that come to mind. Reflecting on the grace and strength of the female form, I am drawn to the medium of copper. I use heat and my hammer to move and shape the metal into subtle lines of the human body. Observations of landscapes and natural elements lead me to my paints. I simplify 3 dimensional elements on paper and panels and in the process find gratitude and wholeness.”

If you can’t make it to the reception, the art will be up through mid-October, and can be viewed from 9-5 Monday through Friday, and an hour prior to any Koger Center event. You can follow Ellen’s work on Instagram (@ellenyaghjianart) and her website (ellenyaghjian.com).

About Last Night - A Magical Evening of New Theatre & Unique Visual Art with Chad Henderson & Nate Puza

L to R: Jon Tuttle - PRS director, Chad Henderson - playwright, Marybeth Gorman Craig - director, Kayla Machado - very pregnant actor, Libby Campbell - actor & Jasper Project board member, G. Scott Wild - actor

Last night was a wonderful night for the Jasper Project as we were privileged to celebrate two artists from two different disciplines at Harbison Theatre for a double dose of Jasper goodness. We opened the evening with a reception for our featured visual artist in the Harbison Theatre Gallery, Nate Puza and ended it with the premier staged reading performance of the 2024 Play Right Series winning play, Let It Grow by Chad Henderson.

Visual Artist Nate Puza offers and artist talk at the opening reception for hi exhibition at the Jasper Project’s Harbison Theatre Gallery

Nate Puza is a South Carolina based artist, designer, and illustrator with over a decade of experience working with some of the biggest bands and brands in the world including Jason Isbell, the Avett Brothers, Chris Stapleton, Phish, and more. Internationally known for his meticulous attention to detail and high level of craftmanship, Puza created the new design for the Columbia, SC flag. When not creating art for your favorite band Nate can be found playing music with friends, being outside, wrenching on his motorcycle, mowing the lawn, or drinking a beer on the back porch.

Chad Henderson is a professional theatre artist from South Carolina. He is known for directing contemporary plays, musicals and original works that mix music, movement, imagination and invention to create unforgettable works for the stage. Henderson served as the Artistic Director of Trustus Theatre (2015-2021) in Columbia, SC, and is the current Marketing Director for the South Carolina Philharmonic, where he most recently produced Home for the Holidays at Koger Center for the Arts. Selected Trustus Theatre credits include: The Brother/Sister Plays, Green Day’s American Idiot, Evil Dead, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, The Last 5 Years, Assassins, The Great Gatsby, Next to Normal, and The Restoration’s Constance - an original musical for which Henderson also authored the book.

Libby Campbell and David Britt on the stage for Let It Grow!

L to R: Libby Campbell, David Britt, G. Scott Wild, Kayla Machado

Jasper expresses our sincerest appreciation to Kristin Cobb, executive director of Harbison Theatre at MTC and her team for welcoming us into their home and supporting our mission. Check out all the exciting performances coming up at Harbison theatre here and support this state-of-the-art performance space the way they support the SC Midlands performing artists!

Kristin Cobb, executive director - Harbison Theatre at MTC welcomes the crowd.

Announcing Jasper's Featured Artists in Our Meridian Sidewalk Gallery-- Richard Lund, Jennifer Hill, Trish Gilliam, and Debbie Patwin!

Jasper Project board member Kimber Carpenter has curated another exciting exhibition for our Meridian Sidewalk Gallery this season, featuring 2-D and 3-D artists Debbie Patwin, Trish Gilliam, Richard Lund, and Jennifer Hill. The Meridian Sidewalk Gallery is a 24/7 art experience nestled in the always-accessible windows of the Meridian Building along Washington and Sumter Streets in beautiful downtown Columbia. Patrons may view the featured art from all angles and make purchases just by scanning a QR code.

Welcome to our fall 2024 season of Meridian artists! Read more about them below!

Kelly Bryant Brings Anthropomorphic Animal Whimsy to First Thursday at Sound Bites

Kelly Bryant’s work is the kind that immediately sparks smiles, urging patrons to come in for a closer look: saintly opossums praying, koalas applying lipstick, and lemurs licking lollipops. 

Bryant is a Connecticut-to-South-Carolina transplant who works full time as a legal worker and fills any spare time she has not wrangling her girls and two cats crafting her art. Fully self-taught, Bryant found painting in an attempt to keep her kids occupied during the COVID-19 lockdown when a Pinterest search for mom activities turned up finger painting.

This activity, however, soon became a passion as Bryant brought “animals doing human things or wearing human attire” to life through bright colors and finger strokes. These soon turned to brush strokes as, post-YouTube rabbit hole, experience and joy alike blossomed. Then, and now, Bryant holds to the lesson that “everyone should do more of what makes them happy.” 

As the hobby solidified into a part of Bryant’s everyday life, she joined the Crooked Creek Art League. Since then, she found oils, which have become her go-to, and she has begun officially showing her work. Bryant showed at this past South Carolina State Fair and at Crooked Creek’s Still Hopes Art Exhibition—where she won a Patron Award. 

It has been a whirlwind of a journey that Bryant feels ever grateful for. She is “finding [her] style and solidifying it throughout everything [she] creates,” and she is continuously grateful that she gets to “watch other people smile when they walk by and see [her] animals.” 

Bryant’s work for this show is an amalgamation of her time as an artist thus far: work from her early finger-painting adventures to oil pieces dry just in time for hanging. It is a collection of bright, whimsical, yet comforting creatures that are effortlessly her own. 

“My art is a reflection of my journey—ever-evolving and always having a bit of fun along the way,” Bryant emphasizes. 

To see Kelly Bryant’s work, join Jasper for her Opening Reception during First Thursday at Sound Bites Eatery on 1425 Sumter Street THIS Thursday, September 5th from 5:30pm—8:00pm.

Emily Moffitt Bridges the Abstract and Illustrative for Jasper’s Tiny Gallery

Salted Heron - Emily Moffitt

Emily Moffitt has been a fundamental behind-the-scenes player for the Columbia arts community for years. A graduate of the University of South Carolina holding a BA in both Studio Art and English, Moffitt is both the marketing assistant and gallery curator for the Koger Center as well as the Secretary of the Jasper Project and the visual arts editor for Jasper Magazine. 

Beyond supporting the arts, Moffitt is herself a multimedia artist—an illustrator who works in primarily ink, gouache, and watercolor and whose work and art alike is “dedicated to developing the cultural landscape of Columbia.” 

Creating art as a mode of self-expression has been part of Moffitt’s roots from childhood, whether sharing melodies on her flute or crafting identities through cosplay. She grew up sketching characters and scenes from her favorite cartoons and video games—but in late high school and college, Moffitt began to realize how vital visual art was for her identity. 

Coral Cluster - Emily Moffitt

Specifically, visual art became a way for Moffitt to connect to her Puerto Rican heritage and, with this realization, she unlocked a path where she could create with intention and within overarching themes. These sinews keep her grounded as she explores the endless possibilities art allows, “combining [her] love for illustration and for abstract art in different ways, allowing [herself] to grow outside of the box and to experiment with different styles.” 

Though her first solo show, in a way, this Tiny Gallery serves as a way of coming home for the young artist. “This collection of work is a combination of getting back into the groove of creating, learning what works best for me, and work that I know I love to do,” Moffitt shares.

For this show, Moffitt has created a cast of characters in an almost visual linked-story collection. Here, fine line harpies gaze into the distance, mysterious jesters dance for an unseen audience, and fish sit in brightly colored tins and swim throughout thoughts alike.

“For this show I found myself drawn to comfortable colors like blue, and I wanted to use as many of my materials I already owned as I could,” Moffitt says. “I typically am the type of person who loves to control things, so using wet media like watercolor pushes me out of that boundary and makes me relax and let the medium work itself, rather than me overworking it.”

Fish for Thought - Emily Moffitt

Moffitt’s Tiny Gallery show will be up until September 30th and can be viewed 24/7 via Jasper’s virtual gallery page. Patrons can also follow her work on her Instagram @thewildflowermural.

SEPTEMBER 14th -- A Double Dose of Jasper

Mark your calendars for the evening of Saturday, September 14th, after the LSU/Carolina game, to come out to Harbison Theatre for a double dose of Columbia Arts. Help Jasper welcome renown graphic artist Nate Puza to the walls of our Harbison Gallery with a free drop-in opening reception starting at 6 pm. Enjoy meeting Nate and hearing about his art, sip a little something, have a little snack, and chat with friends until 7:30 when the curtain rises on more new art coming out of Columbia, SC!

Let It Grow, by Chad Henderson, winner of the Jasper Project’s 2024 Play Right Project series, will premiere as a staged reading  and offer us the right to say I saw it first when it inevitably moves on to other stages near and far. Directed by Marybeth Gorman Craig, and starring Libby Campbell-Turner, G. Scott Wild, Kayla Machado, and David Britt, Let It Grow is a sweet and poignant comedy that looks at the expectations we share about family-like relationships, what happens when players outside of those relationships insert themselves, and PLANTS! The Play Right Series is administered by SC playwright Jon Tuttle and is in its fourth cycle of midwifing new theatre art onto the stage exclusively from South Carolina playwrights.

Previous Play Right Series winning plays include Sharks and Other Lovers by Randall David Cook, Moon Swallower by Colby Quick, and Therapy by Lonetta Thompson. Lonetta Thompson’s Therapy will be fully produced by the NiA Company August 29, 30, 31st at the Trustus Theatre Side Door Theatre and Jasper strongly encourages you to come out and support this new art, too! Tickets for Lonetta Thompson’s Therapy are here.

 

NATE PUZA OPENING RECEPTION

6 PM – FREE

 

LET IT GROW by Chad Henderson

7:30 pm -TICKETS

 

And while we have you, check out Harbison Theatre’s exciting calendar of events for 2024 – 2025 including Ensemble Eclectica on August 24th, South Carolina’s own singer-songwriter Cody Webb on September 6th, and The Box Masters featuring Billy Bob Thornton with opening act The Capital City Playboys, Friday October 18th!

Large-Scale Urban Canvas Art Tapestry Unveiling at Todd & Moore Sporting Goods

A new Urban Canvas tapestry, a component of the Columbia Streams Art public art program is scheduled to unveil on Tuesday, August 20 at 11:30 am by Columbia Mayor Daniel Rickenmann, representatives from Todd & Moore, the host of the new piece of public art, and the artists themselves.

*The featured artists include:

Jennifer Bartell Boykin

Diane Condon

Wilma King

Tabitha Ott

Kristine Hartvigsen

Michael Cassidy

Lori Starnes

Michael Dwyer

Austin Sheppard

Anna Redwine

The tapestry measures 15 feet wide by 10 feet tall, and is comprised of images and artistic expressions by ten different local visual artists, poets, and jewelry designers.

The City of Columbia will also recognize the 20’ wide by 15’ tall Urban Canvas which was recently unfurled in the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center, which mirrors the original 10’ by 10’ original canvas first exhibited outside of Art Bar in The Vista in November 2022.

*The Jasper Project Congratulates and Appreciates All the Artists Involved in this Project and Wants to Make Sure Your Names are Heard, Known, and Celebrated!

Todd & Moore Sporting Goods exterior

(Back of the building facing Blossom St.)

620 Huger Street

Alex Ruskell Creates Whimsical Friends for Jasper’s Tiny Gallery

Nighthawks by Alex Ruskell

Alex Ruskell is a man who wears many hats, serving as the Director of Academic Success for the University of South Carolina’s Law School by day and parading around stages with his band, the Merry Chevaliers, at night. 

All the while, strange little figures plague his mind, and fortunately for those who call Columbia home, those whimsical dudes materialize into joyful paintings patrons can hang on their own walls.

 

Crooner by Alex Ruskell

“When I started painting, all I really wanted to do was make people happy,” Ruskell shares. “I know that sounds dopey and saccharine, but that was it—along with making enough money per art show that I could take my family out to dinner without feeling guilty about it.” 

For his Tiny Gallery show (which has made his work available to those nearly as far-and-wide as the outer space dwellers he often paints), Ruskell has put together 8 new works alongside prints of 2 popular pieces.  

On the gallery site, patrons will see dinos and dragons floating in space (with astronaut helmets for their tails, of course); crooning, karaoke monsters; and kings and goths alike just trying to get by. Essentially? The usual.

Spaced by Alex Ruskell

“The painting thing has worked out better than I could hope for,” Ruskell says. “I've got paintings in my yard that the neighborhood children have named; I see my paintings in the backgrounds of college dorm photos; and I get asked to do commissioned paintings for family birthdays, baby nurseries, and wedding gifts.” 

Alex Ruskell’s Tiny Gallery show will be live until August 31st, so be sure to check out his funky friends filled with heart before then on Jasper’s virtual gallery space. 

“Life is wonderful, but everyone has their down moments,” Ruskell says. “I like to think that a person might buy an alien eating a slice of pizza, stick it on his or her wall, and get a chuckle out of it now and again."

 

CALL for Visual Artists -- Jasper is Accepting Applicants for the 2025 Jasper Galleries Series

We’re looking for a few good artists!

It’s already time for Jasper to plan our schedule for the 2025 Jasper Galleries Series and we want to hear from YOU! Just follow the instructions on the handy graphic above to let us know you are interested in sharing your work with the Jasper Project and your adoring fans.

In addition to our online 24/7 Tiny Gallery, Jasper has gallery spaces at Motor Supply Bistro, Sound Bites Eatery, The Nook at the Koger Center for Arts, the Lobby Gallery at Harbison Theatre, and at the Sidewalk Gallery in the Meridian Building Windows at Washington and Sumter Streets in downtown Columbia.

Application Deadline is October 15th.

We’re looking forward to hearing from YOU!

Special thanks to the good people at Motor Supply Bistro, Sound Bites Eatery, Koger Center for the Arts, Harbison Theatre, and the Meridian Building for supporting Columbia’s visual arts community by opening their walls to the Jasper Project for programming. We encourage you to support these businesses with your patronage. And if the walls need some love in your place of business, please contact our

Galleries Manager, Christina Xan at cxan@JasperProject.org,

to make plans for a Jasper Galleries arrangement custom created for you and your clientele.

Art Reception Double Feature at the Koger Center by Emily Moffitt

The Koger Center for the Arts underwent a large cosmetic upgrade during the summer months, including new carpet and the installation of telescopic seating in their large rehearsal room to create a black box theatre. Aside from the physical facelift of the building, the two gallery spaces now hold new exhibitions for patrons to enjoy before an event or any time throughout the day. The two new exhibits are “The Project 2023 Winners’ Exhibition” in the Gallery at the Koger Center, and in the Nook, one of our Jasper Galleries locations, Marius Valdes is the featured artist of August. A large-scale opening reception for both exhibits is scheduled for August 15, 2024, from 5:30 – 7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.  

The Project 2023 Winners’ Exhibition features the winners of the Koger Center’s annual art competition. The 2023 iteration winners are Yvette Cummings, Roberto Clemente de Leon, Gerard Erley, Jo-Ann Morgan, and Susan Lenz. “The Project: A Call for Art” is a competition that began during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and is dedicated to uplifting and featuring visual artists across the state of South Carolina.

A variety of media is included in this exhibit: from oil paintings to sculpture, from collage to quilting. Stop by the Gallery at the Koger Center and mingle with artist peers from across the state!

 

 As a member of the Vista Guild Association, the Koger Center for the Arts is proud to partner with the Jasper Project in Third Thursday Art Night. We feature a different artist every month in our rotating gallery, The Nook, with an opening reception on the month's Third Thursday. August 2024's featured artist is Marius Valdes.

Marius Valdes is an artist currently based in Columbia, SC. Valdes has been recognized by design publications such as Graphic Design USA, HOW, Print, Communication Arts, Creative Boom, Creative Quarterly, Step, and industry competitions including American Illustration, and The World Illustration Awards. In 2022, the UK's Creative Boom website named Valdes as one of its "20 Most Exciting Illustrators" to follow.

Valdes is a Professor at the University of South Carolina. He teaches graphic design and illustration in the GD+I program in the School of Visual Art and Design. He lives in Forest Acres with his wife, Beth, and their daughter Emma. Mary, the dog, is always around for a good laugh.

CALL for Visual Artists -- Society 1858 Prize for Contemporary Southern Art (Deadline August 30, 2024)

Deadline Extended!

The Gibbes Museum's Society 1858 Prize for Contemporary Southern Art is awarded to an artist whose work contributes to a new understanding of art in the South. Presented annually, the Prize recognizes the highest level of artistic achievement and welcomes applications from artist working across any media. 

Artists from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia are encouraged and eligible to apply.

Previous winners have subsequently received awards from the Joan Mitchell Fellowship, the Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, and the Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant. Additionally, winning artists' work has been received into the permanent collections of The National Gallery of Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Art Institute of Chicago, and the Gibbes Museum of Art.

The extraordinary multi-disciplinary artist, Sherrill Roland was the recipient of the 2023 Prize, receiving a cash award of $10,000 and whose work is now on exhibit at the Gibbes Museum until 2025.

Applications are accepted exclusively through Slideroom. Rules for Submission are Here!

Apply Now.

Kara Virginia Russo’s Planetary Soul Sketches for Jasper’s Tiny Gallery

Kara Virginia Russo is an emerging visual and performance artist based in Greenville and Columbia, South Carolina, who creates intimate portraits of her own and others’ inner selves. For the month of July, she is Jasper’s featured Tiny Gallery artist. 

Russo is a multimedia artist who works in ink, drawing, embroidery, collage, and found objects, both on paper and in sculpture and assemblage. This variety of style and texture allows her to parallel the rich images that flow and intertwine in her mind. 

Though she went to art school, afterwards, she “didn’t make art for around 12 or 15 years,” feeling like it was “a language [she] didn’t speak.” When she finally started again, she naturally gravitated towards circles.  

“I made circles because they felt incredibly symbolic. Everything in my life was changing all at once during that period, and the circles stood in for all the feelings and questions and explorations I was having around my ideas and beliefs about God,” Russo details. “The perfection of the circle, and the inability to draw a perfect one by hand…there was a lot of things I was playing with that I could make sense of visually and let go of needing to think verbally for a while.” 

Russo shares that, “upon her adult diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder, she embraced her inner imaginative world and her love of symbol, pattern, and repetition and developed a visual vocabulary and the mixed media techniques to support it.”  

“I began exploring an imaginary world of my own, in which the planetary landscape gave me a visual vocabulary for interactions with myself and with God,” she describes. “I've always just thought of this place as simply The Planet. I'm still playing with those things, which is why much of my work feels planetary.” 

Russo uses these skills to craft not only the visions within her own mind’s eye, but to gaze at the energy of those around her, taking what they cannot see of themselves and reproducing it. Beyond her solo work, she has collaborated on several musical projects, contributing visual art and experimental film, as well as live ritual-based performances.  

Her style has taken a distinct shape, one formed from “filling up sketchbooks as fast as [she] could.” Though many of her works start in a sketchbook as individual pieces, she has even begun mounting and framing entire sketchbooks behind glass. 

“It makes the pieces feel like museum artifacts or something. Explorer's notebooks, like I've gone to the planet, looked around at how things work and look and grow and move, and come back with my explorers notes and diagrams and drawings,” Russo shares. “And of course, the planet is just a stand in, a way of exploring reality that tries to get behind things and into the essence. Or, thought about another way, I make windows into reality. The reality we can't see. In this way my work functions a little bit like religious iconography.” 

Russo’s work has been shown in solo and group exhibitions in North and South Carolina and Germany, and responses to her work still overwhelm her: “I like to joke that if you make several thousand circles, eventually they become so interesting that people start wanting to pay money for them (which still amazes me. Every. Time.).” 

For her Tiny Gallery show, Russo has collected pieces from two of her series: Music of the Spheres and Tiny Sketchbook. Her Music of the Spheres series is a cacophony of shaded circles, given direct and relation by electric white lines. Her Tiny Sketchbook series expands these images with further texture and detail, as ink expertly bleeds and threads dip in and out of the paper. 

“Beauty has a way of putting things back together; my art practice is a way for me to throw open the windows of my interior and let the sunshine in,” Russo describes. “I'm always hoping that the finished art does that for other people too.” 

Virginia Russo’s work will be available to peruse and purchase via Jasper’s virtual gallery space until July 31st.

 

 

 

Elisabeth LaRose Paints the Floral and the Spiritual for Jasper Galleries at Sound Bites

Elisabeth LaRose is a multimedia artist with a distinct love for watercolor. In the month of July, she will be the featured artist for Jasper Galleries at Sound Bites Eatery. 

LaRose has never been a stranger to art, with her earliest memory being of her mother—an artist herself—showing a young LaRose how to create shading with crayons: “I always knew from those early days that being a creative was my passion,” she shares. 

LaRose would go on to study art at the University of South Carolina, while working a full-time job. After school, she would focus on her job and raising her family, but she still continued to fill her spare time with making art. Her watercolors of historic homes from this time can still be seen hanging in various businesses and homes in Winnsboro. 

It was during this that LaRose expanded her techniques across a variety of media and began to teach art lessons—though some mediums have remained favorites. 

“I have always loved the versatility of watercolor. It can be loose and impressionistic or controlled and detailed which is my favorite,” LaRose shares. “Acrylic is next on my list of favorites because I love to paint on wood and glass.” 

LaRose would continue to hone in on her skills during her time living in Charlotte, North Carolina—painting murals in homes on Lake Norman—and upon returning to Columbia—painting on rocks, windows, and wood at Mill Creek Greenhouses.

Throughout all these places, LaRose continued to be inspired by her own feelings and experiences: “For as long as I can remember, every time I see something that touches me deeply, I automatically start to think about how I can portray those feelings creatively,” she shares. 

Specifically, her time working with plants opened an avenue that has become one of the clearest and most striking repeating images in her work. 

“Nature is my muse along with a love of spiritual symbols; so much of my work contains these elements,” LaRose details. “The garden is my happy place, and my hope is that my paintings evoke a feeling of peace and foster a love of all things natural in our beautiful world.” 

Recently, LaRose joined the South Carolina Artist Guild and has enjoyed the opportunity to show her work with local businesses and shows in Columbia. As she says, “My enthusiasm for my work is greater than ever, and I look forward to finding new inspirations to integrate into my craft.” 

One of these inspirations is her ever-shifting spirituality—most recently the “Native American practice of Shamanic journeying”—which takes forefront in LaRose’s show for Jasper Galleries at Sound Bites. 

“My style just has always been detailed and realistic. I love all things mythical and spiritual, both Native American and Eastern (Buddhism),” she details. “I have become fascinated with Adinkras in the last couple of years. They are African symbols. They are in many of my paintings chosen for this [Sound Bites] show.” 

Elisabeth LaRose’s show opens at Sound Bites Eatery on 1425 Sumter Street on Thursday, July 11th. The opening will take place from 5:30pm—8:00pm, with the restaurant’s full menu available.

Darren Young Creates Textured Familiar Paintings for Jasper Galleries at Motor Supply Bistro

Opening reception Friday July 12 6 pm

Local painter Darren Young is Jasper’s newest featured artist for Jasper Galleries at Motor Supply Co. Bistro, where for the next three months, patrons can enjoy their farm-to-table meals alongside a curated selection of beautiful oil paintings.  

Young received his BFA in Painting at East Carolina University and his MFA in Painting at Indiana University before studying with Wolf Kahn and Janet Fish at Vermont Studio Center. Now a resident of South Carolina, he paints and draws from observation. Specifically, he is “primarily concerned with creating interesting compositions with shape, color, and light” and his “subject matter is usually of places and people [he is] familiar with.”

“The way that I think of style is it’s basically a person’s point of view on how they want to express their feelings on a canvas,” Young shares. “Years of looking at other great painters does have an effect on an artist, but at the end of the day, you go within yourself and let the mind in the heart express your point of view of how you relate to the world.”

Young’s work—mostly oil, but some acrylic—shifts as the viewer walks across its line of sight. Wide brushstrokes and thick layers create unique texture, causing the images to shift and take shape as one strides up to, and walks back from, the painting.

“I want a painting to look like it was painted, and impasto or building up layer after shows that process very clearly—much the same way that an artist like Frank Auerbach does,” Young details. “Artists like Paul Gauguin and [Henri] Matisse excite me for their color use, and I think about using that kind of an expressionist palette for the most part because it feels natural as a reflection of who I am”

Viewers of Young’s current show will find both natural landscapes intimate to Young—like sunsets and lighthouses—as well as spaces he traverses in his day-to-day life—like he and his family’s living rooms, dining rooms, and porches. 

“What others consider ‘mundane’ I try to exalt to a ‘higher level,’ amplifying those things around me that I live with day-to-day similar to how an artist like Edward Hopper did,” Young shares.

Darren Young’s work is now up at Motor Supply in the Vista and will be up until the end of September. Join us for his Opening Reception on Friday, July12th from 6:00pm—8:00pm.

 

 

EXCLUSIVE JASPER INTERVIEW: OLGA YUKHNO & NEW PUBLIC ART -- CHERISHED

“I wanted to create a piece that symbolizes love, care, and inclusion.”

-Olga Yukhno

Cherished by Olga Yukhno

At the Jasper Project, we were excited to chat with our spring 2023 cover artist, Olga Yukhno, about her newest piece of public art, Cherished. Read on to learn more about the process of creating this beautiful piece of art, then visit Cherished at its new home in Chapin, SC.

JASPER: What is the material content for Cherished?

YUKHNO: The base of my newest public art piece Cherished is made out of concrete. Then the forms were decorated with a combination of ceramic pieces that I made, mirrors and a selection of old china pieces, mostly from old plates. The plates were donated to St. Francis Thrift Shop but couldn’t be sold due to chips or imperfections. I was excited by the idea of once cherished items finding a new life through art.

 

JASPER: Can you talk about the process of creating Cherished?

YUKHNO: Every step pf this process was fairly new for me which created a lot of additional excitement. First, I made a template that I later used to create a life-size maquette to make sure I liked the overall look. Once I made all the changes based on this initial experience, I created the final template that was used to cut the mold pieces out of thick plywood. Then the molds were assembled and helped determine the best placement for the actual piece.

The next step was to pour the base which was quite challenging as it took more concrete than we had anticipated. Once the base slab cured several days later, we started filling the vertical molds with concrete. We had to do it in small sections to avoid putting too much pressure on the molds. Finding just the right moment before the previous layer of poured concrete got too hard was key. After a few days of curing, the forms were ready to be mosaiced. Meanwhile, I spent several days in my home studio preparing the mosaic bits, breaking plates, cutting mirrors, and developing the design so I wouldn’t have to do it on site.

Every element of the design was carefully marked and transported to the site. It took me several 10-hour workdays to install all the mosaic pieces. Once this process was complete, the art piece was ready for the final step- grouting.

Cherished by Olga Yukhno in progress

JASPER: What was the inspiration for this piece?

YUKHNO: When I first moved to the United States, I had the unique honor to get connected with St. Francis, and the wonderful opportunity to volunteer at the thrift store for over 4 years. The volunteers I met while working there created such a safe and welcoming environment and were always the most supportive and encouraging people. They helped me understand the culture, and I could always tell how much they cared. I have remained close with many of them even now, 15 years later. This has created a very special place in my heart for the thrift store, and the people who are involved with it, and I wanted to have the opportunity to give back through my art to the community who gave me so much.

I wanted to create a piece that symbolizes love, care, and inclusion. The Thrift Shop serves people of all walks of life, backgrounds, and needs. I wanted my piece to say “Welcome” to them and “Thank You” to the volunteers who work so hard to help others.

 

JASPER: How long did the process of creating the piece take?

YUKHNO: I first came up with this idea in August 2023, and it took about a year to make it happen which is a very quick turn-around when it comes to public art. I started collecting all the materials in January, and it took about 5 months to get enough for the piece. The onsite construction of Cherished lasted another month.

 

“…it reflects a deep belief that I hold- that art should be where we live our daily lives. So having it in a place that serves a very diverse population is significant for me.”

JASPER: Where is it located?

YUKHNO: Cherished is located in front of St. Francis Community Thrift Shop (114 Courtland Rd) in Chapin.

Its location is very important for me because it reflects a deep belief that I hold- that art should be where we live our daily lives. So having it in a place that serves a very diverse population is significant for me.

 

JASPER: Did you receive funding for this work – from whom?

YUKHNO: This project is supported by the SC Arts Commission through their Emerging Artist Grant. Public Art is a new artistic discipline for me, and this grant gave me an opportunity to improve my skills, get additional mentorship and professional support.

 

JASPER: What other pieces of public art have you created?

YUKHNO: Public Art is a very exciting new artistic path for me. I have already created several pieces including Spirit of the Lake that is located in Chapin, In Bloom that was displayed in public spaces in both North and South Carolina, The Rainbow Boat again in Chapin for their Sail Into Chapin event. I also participated in the Vista Power Boxes project.

 

JASPER: Please tell us about any other pieces of public art you have in the works or hope to create soon.

YUKHNO: Currently, I’m working with the Columbia Peace Committee to create a new sculptural installation, Persimmon Peace Pole, to promote the idea of peace which is particularly crucial right now. It will be a seven-foot tall sculptural mosaiced piece that will have hand sculpted floral elements and tiles.

On a separate note, Cherished is not the only project that has come to fruition recently. I have been working on a special series of multi-media artwork dedicated to dementia for several years now. And, finally, I have an amazing opportunity to share it with the public. I’m participating in a two-person exhibition featuring the work of late Harry Hansen and my new pieces at the Jones-Carter Gallery in Lake City, SC. I love this Gallery and the opportunity to show my work there is a dream come true!

This exhibition, Bridges to Personhood, opens on June 21 and will be on view through August 17.

 

 

Marion Mason and Ginny Merritt at Jasper's Sidewalk Gallery

The Jasper Project has been delighted to include the work of two former visual arts educators, Marion Mason and Ginny Merritt, as well as that of Lucy Bailey and Judy Sellers in out Sidewalk Gallery at the Meridian Building on Washington and Sumter Streets in Downtown Columbia this spring.

About his work, Marion Mason says, “I am a visual artist who taught high school Art for
forty-two years. I earned the Bachelor of Arts Degree in studio art (sculpture concentration) from the University of South Carolina, and the Master of Fine Arts Degree (in sculpture) from the University of Georgia. In addition, I earned the Master of Education
(adult & community education) from Carolina. I began my 42 year HS Art teaching career as the artist-in-residence, and on-site coordinator, at the former Richland District One Artistically Talented and Gifted (ARTAG) High School Program. Currently I teach various visual arts courses and serve as the Fine Arts Department Head at White Knoll High School.
Since retiring from teaching in January, 2019, I am now a full-time professional artist again, and exhibit and sell my sculpture, pendants and earrings. Over the years I have shown and won awards at many local, state, regional, and national competitive and invitational exhibits.”

 

 According to Ginny Merett, “My collage work shows the deconstruction of beauty and an escape from reality inspired by stylish women in my life and around the world. I am nostalgic about family gatherings, women’s fashion in the early 1900’s and by personalities I meet day to day. My focus is on taking parts and pieces from current-day media to create present moments, social commentary, and new personalities. My art has been shown in solo and group exhibits at 701 Whaley Hallway: community art gallery, Stormwater Studio, ArtFields, Koger Center for the Arts, the Jasper Project, USC’s McMaster Gallery, SC State Library and Fair, and other local venues like Sound Bites Eatery, Trustus Theater, She Festival, Cottontown Art Crawl and Melrose Art in the Yard. Her work is published in the Jasper Project’s Jasper Magazine Spring 2019 and Fall 2022 editions, and in Sheltered: SC Artists Respond During the 2020 Pandemic; and in Bullets and Band-Aids, Vol. 3.”

 

Welcoming Judy Sellers as one of our Featured Artists at the Meridian Sidewalk Gallery

At the Jasper Project, we’re delighted to welcome Judy Sellers as one of our featured artists at Jasper’s Sidewalk Gallery space at the Meridian Building, viewable 24/7 along Washington and Sumter Streets.

About her work as an artist Sellers says, “I grew up in Iowa and moved to Texas in sixth grade. After a year at Austin College, I worked as a keypunch operator at the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad and graduated in education from USC in 1969. After
retirement from 30+ years as an elementary school teacher and librariam, I delved into reading, gardening, bridge, and my artistic journey.

While I initially dabbled in painting, my focus on improving as an artist came later. I've marveled at art in museums around the world, finding inspiration in the expression of great artists. My artistic journey has had its ups and downs, as drawing doesn't come naturally to me. Yet, I persist, always seeking originality and growth.

I've had the privilege of studying with professional artists like Shanna Kunz, Cynthia Rosen, and Julie Steenhuis, gaining respect for their unique perspectives. While I draw inspiration from various artists, I remain true to my own path. I continue to love and learn about art in all its forms.

Additional artists featured in Jasper’s Sidewalk Gallery at the Meridian include Devon Corley, Tennyson Corley, and Lucy Bailey!

Sean Madden’s Intimately Familiar Landscapes at Sound Bites Eatery

Sean Madden

is the Jasper Project’s Featured Artist for June at

Sound Bites Eatery

Sean Madden is a multimedia artist who captures landscapes and portraits of Columbia in such a way that makes the images both familiar and fresh at the same time.  

Both Madden’s parents were artists, so creating was never foreign to him. His mother was an accomplished oil painter, and his father was a master carpenter, scratch painter, and sculptor. Though art came naturally, it was music that first captured Madden’s interest. 

“The influence of my parents came full circle in the early 2000s when I began working for a piano and antique restoration company,” Madden says. “And my knowledge of wood carving and ability to work an artist's brush proved invaluable.”

However, it was after the loss of his mother in 2019 that Madden was moved to “return to [his] roots” and begin painting once more. This time, it stuck, and he now finds it hard to pull himself from whatever surface he’s sketching on during any free time. 

Madden’s inspirations come from all around him, from the world he traverses each day. Though he began capturing these scenes with oil, he embraces all mediums, including gouache, acrylic, watercolor, graphite, and ink. 

“My main goal, when I sit down behind the easel, is to find some way of bridging reality with nostalgic fantasy,” he explains. “I tend to be drawn towards images centering around water and the play of light and shadow.”  

Madden has had his work displayed in venues around Columbia and Myrtle Beach, has found success as a part-time commission artist, and is proud to have works in fourteen states and two countries. 

His work for this show features landscapes both familiar and yet intimately personal. The common image of the Lake Murray Dam is interrupted by a buzzard that swooped down only feet from Madden on a visit. Two eerie beach scenes display the view from a quiet walk he and his wife took after Hurricane Ian struck the hotel at which they were vacationing. 

Madden’s work is available to view at Sound Bites Eatery (1425 Sumter St.) until the end of June. Sound Bites is open from 10am–3pm on weekdays and 11am–3pm on weekends. Purchases can be made through scanning QR codes on the paintings’ labels.

 

 

Jasper's Tiny Gallery Artist for June is Trish Gilliam

Trish Gillam is a multimedia artist and a lifelong resident of South Carolina, where she paints both individually and as part of Swirly Girl Arts—a painter duo consisting of her and her daughter Kimber Carpenter. (Full disclosure—Kimber Carpenter is a member of the Jasper Project board of directors.) 

After graduating in 1966 from University High School, Gillam studied business administration and eventually settled into a career in real estate and massage therapy. It was after retiring in 2016 that she decided to plunge into the art world. 

When it comes to art, she is completely self-taught and includes Jackson Pollock, Wassily Kandinsky, and Helen Frankenthaler among her influences. Particularly, three of her local peers—Alicia Leeke, Lee A. Monts, and K. Wayne Thornley—further influence her aesthetic.  

Gillam paints with a variety of mediums, including acrylic and ink, and finds inspiration in “the beautiful colors and dynamic shapes of nature—I spend many hours in my garden, walking in the woods behind my home, and enjoying time on the coast of South Carolina. These experiences have brought much joy and happiness to me, and it is my desire to capture them in my work,” she says.  

Gillam refers to her work as “free style,” which has an organic, unique flow. In her studio, she paints while listening to music, often dancing as she creates. It is this openness, joy, and freedom that she hopes to share with others through her art. 

She has shown her work—solo and through Swirly Girl Arts—across the Midlands, including locations such as the Robert Mills House, Cottontown Art Crawl, Art in the Yard, Rob Shaw Gallery, Musician’s Supply, NoMa Warehouse, The Artist’s Coop, Pitter-Patter Pottery, Artistic Aspiration, The Aloft Hotel, and The Land Banks Loft Historic Building. 

For this show, Gillam has put together a showcase of her various styles and talents. Patrons can see collaged girls with sassy expressions, textured landscapes, and whimsical homes—all with an array of bright colors and styles. 

Trish Gillam’s work will be up on Jasper’s virtual Tiny Gallery until the end of June.

News from Harbison Theatre -- Jazz with Chris Potter and the Art of Barbara Yongue

Saxophone Colossus: Chris Potter

Presented by SC Jazz Masterworks Ensemble
Saturday, June 15 | 7:30 PM 

SC Jazz Masterworks Ensemble is overjoyed to present one of the best Jazz Saxophonists of all time and Columbia native, Chris Potter. Since emerging on the scene as a sideman 30 years ago with Red Rodney, Chris has gone on to play with everybody from Pat Metheny to Steely Dan. Down Beat magazine called him “One of the most studied (and copied) saxophonists on the planet” and Jazz Times identified him as “a figure of international renown.” Potter’s impressive discography includes 18 albums as a leader, as well as sideman appearances on more than 100 albums. 

Join The Jasper Project and Barbara Yongue as we celebrate the opening of her exhibition in the gallery space at Harbison Theatre.

At 6:30 PM, Barbara will be available to speak and give you the opportunity to enjoy her work prior to the opening curtain for Saxophone Colossus: Chris Potter presented by SC Jazz Masterworks Ensemble. During intermission, you’re invited to revisit the art. Her work will be available for purchase. Learn more about Barbara and her work below.

The exhibition is free and available for viewing from June through August 2024.

Barbara Alston Yongue, born in Memphis Tennessee and raised in Ohio, has studied and continues to study art for almost as long as she has been alive.  An art major in college she has continued her education with such well-known artists as Daniel Greene, Nelson Shanks, Janet Fish, Tony Ryder, Charlie Hunter.  She is a member of Oil Painters of America, Trenholm Art Guild and the art group known as About Face.  She enjoys Portraiture, Still Life painting and Plein Air.  

Awards Include:
2023 - Facilitator Plein air competition ARTFIELDS 
2022 - Facilitator Plein air ArtField 
2023 - Second place and peoples choice TAG … Still Hopes 
2022 - Peoples choice TAG …BEST MATTRESS
2019 - 1st place  Trenholm art guild spring show
2018 - 3rd place Trenholm art guild
2017 - 1st Place Pawleys Island Seaside Palette- Plein Air
2017 - People’s Choice award- Arts on the Ridge
2016 - 2017 – 9 time winner of the Columbia Museum of Art monthly challenge
2017 - Merit Award – Trenholm Art Guild
2016 - 2nd Place Pawleys Island Seaside Palette- Plein Air
2014 - Merit Award – Trenholm Art Guild
2013 - Painting Award - Garden of Dreams, Magnolia Gardens
2011 - Judy Faye Moyer award- Crooked Creek art League
2010 - Merit Award – Crooked Creek Art League
2009 - Best in Show- Crooked Creek Art League
2009 - Merit Award- Trenholm Art Guild
2008 - Special Award- Crooked Creek Art League
2008 - Merit Award – Trenholm Art Guild
2004 - Merit Award- Crooked Creek
2004 - Carolina Gallery Award – Crooked Creek
2001 - Merit Award- Crooked Creek
Champion 2 Times – Columbia Museum of Art – Face Off event
2nd Runner up – Artfields portrait competition
2015 Judge for Arts on the Ridge Ridgeway, SC
President - Fairfield County Arts Council  2018

Artist Statement:
I paint primarily from life because it is my belief that what is created by doing that gives a certain touch of LIFE that cannot be achieved any other way. Most of all … I try to paint Beauty.