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! Koger Center for the Arts Opens Submission Period for Annual Art Contest

The Koger Center for the Arts is bringing back their art competition, “The Project” for 2024. The submission period opened on April 17 and will close on July 19, 2024. The first-place winner for the contest receives a $500 stipend and a group of artists will get the opportunity to showcase their winning artwork!

The beginning of the art contest started during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. The goals were simple – offer a small financial award to a South Carolina artist and provide a platform to showcase the talent of artists in our state through an exhibition at the Koger Center.

You can fill out the submission form here!

The requirements for submissions are as follows:

·         Artist must be over 18 years old and based in South Carolina

·         Submissions must be your own, original work

·         Submissions must have been created in the past 2 years

·         If an artist has applied before, repeat art cannot be submitted again

·         Previous winners of The Project/1593 Project (the name of the contest the year it was created) may not submit artwork for up to 5 years. Honorable mentions are still allowed to enter again.

The end of the submission period coincides with the run of the exhibit “The Project 2023 Winners’ Exhibition.” The featured, winning artists from last year’s submission period are Yvette Cummings (first place), Roberto de Leon (second place), Gerard Erley, Susan Lenz, Jo-Ann Morgan, and Cameron Porter (honorable mentions). More information about this upcoming exhibit can be found on the Koger Center site.

If you have any questions or concerns about the submission process, call the Koger Center Admin Office at (803)777-7500, or email Emily Moffitt at moffitte@mailbox.sc.edu.

 -Emily Moffitt

PROFILE: Visual Artist Wilma King Uses Rich Colors & Clever Object Juxtapositions to Create Warm & Inviting Images

If you haven’t seen the work of Cottontown visual artist Wilma King now is your chance.

Check out this virtual exhibition of King’s art and read about her background and inspirations below.

Jasper had the great pleasure of touching base with visual artist Wilma King this week and we asked her a few questions about her work. We’re delighted to share details of our exchange with you.

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Jasper:  When did you first begin to pursue visual art? Where and when did you train, or are you self-taught? 

Wilma King: I  remember an incident in fourth grade that helped me focus in on my love of art and design. My teacher, Ms. Hendrix, knew how to inspire and cultivate creativity and internationalism. She read books to us, held in-class competitions, and infused applied learning into our coursework way back then. Our school was on a military base in Fort Greely, Alaska which helped in the spirit of all of these concepts. My mind was full of dreams of being a nurse like Clara Barton, until she announced a fashion design competition for us girls. My classmates who saw my design convinced me that I would surely win – but I didn't. So, I launched this compulsion and intrigue to design paper dolls for my sisters, friends, and anyone who would allow me to do so. It was an experience that allowed me to delve deeply into individual, and cultural preferences for design, color, shape, size, and form. 

But it was in junior high school that my art teacher helped and encouraged me to see a broad range of ideas and topics from which to draw and paint. In eighth grade, I won a scholarship to what was then the Columbia Art School (a part of the museum), and sold my first painting that year, as well.

My first job, literally two weeks after graduating from the University of South Carolina, was with an international trade magazine, while still learning about cultural preferences and communication design. 

I have a BA degree in art studio (advertising design) from the U of SC and went on to earn a MA in Journalism (PR and Advertising) from Texas Southern University (Houston, Texas), because I always felt that there should be a collaboration between words and images. I taught graphic design, computerized design, or some form of public relations design most of my career, beginning with launching, teaching, and designing the first courses and curriculum in commercial art here in Columbia at Benedict College. From that point, I taught at the Art Institute (Houston, TX), O'More College (Franklin, TN), and was an Associate Professor in PR at both Western Kentucky University (Bowling Green, KY), and Rochester Institute of Technology (Rochester, NY).

Jasper: Where did you grow up?  

King: I was born in Lexington, SC, and continued to “grow up” in Alaska, and Columbia (Lower Richland area near Hopkins). My father was born and raised in Louisiana, ten miles outside New Orleans (St. John Parrish), so that's also part of the “growing up” experience. I have lived in eleven different states and did domestic and international sabbaticals that took me to a cumulative  nine months of slow travels and teaching abroad in Italy. 

After more than 30 years of doing some of the things that I found interesting and exciting, and to become my mother's primary caregiver, I moved back home to SC.

Jasper: What mediums in visual arts do you typically use and why? 

King: My very wonderful art professors at USC, particularly Jim Edwards, taught me that acrylics are extremely adaptable and can convincingly disguise as other paint mediums, so as a painter, which is my medium of choice. 

At the beginning of the COVID pandemic, I sought ways to bring people together over a meal, coffee, or drinks. Nursing homes and hospitals were closed to visitors making it impossible to share meals with elderly, ill, or hospitalized family and friends -- so I began painting on glassware -- wine glasses, wine bottles, mugs, vases, etc. (using oils): Table Companions was born! A "table companion" is someone that you enjoy sharing a meal or drink with. 

Jasper: Who have been your greatest influences as an artist? 

King: Dony Mac Manus, sculptor/founder of the School for Sacred Art in Florence,  Italy, and Giancarlo Polenghi,  the school's director of the master’s program who is an Italian art historian and who also teaches theology of the body. They both helped me to understand that the purpose and power of art is to elevate the status of individuals in communities and in society!

Jonathan Green has given me some very good advice and critique on my work, as well.

Now, each day, before I begin to paint, I study some of the great Christian art. I enjoy Biblical stories through the eyes of Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, Peter Paul Rubens, Cristofo de Predis, Rogier van der Weyden, Rembrandt, Vincent Van Gogh, and even Salvador Dali. 

I have had the great privilege and opportunity to visit many churches and museums across the US and Italy, particularly the Uffizi, The Vatican Museum and St. Peters Cathedral several times, on numerous occasions, as well as the Prado in Madrid. I also love two fashion museums focused on telling the stories of the family: Ferragamo and Gucci. A yet-to-realize goal is to see Rembrandt’s The Return of the Prodigal Son in the Louvre.

Jasper: What do you feel makes your art unique?

King: I enjoy telling my stories as well as those of people I have met along the way. An avid nonfiction reader, I try to incorporate a level of authenticity, through descriptive and narrative detail in my paintings. I focus on the story to give it broader meaning – that is, the painting’s relationship-building potential. People often comment on my style. I paint from memory, not photos (unless commissioned to do so), and I rarely use references. Various elements in each painting are carefully outlined to show that the story is a composite of different places and spans of time.

Of course, I believe Table Companions fills a different type of need and experience than merely doing handprinted glassware because I am finding a unique way for people to share being together and building memories over meals. I am still telling their stories through perhaps flowers, colors, etc.

Jasper: Who is your favorite SC-based visual artist and why? 

King: There are three. I am watching and loving Gerald Erley's paintings! His technique and artistic ability are unapologetically akin to that of the "great masters,” not only in his artistic ability, but also in the way he commands his storytelling.

Jonathan Greene has been a favorite for a very long time. I love his use of color and form, and the stories of the African American experiences in the south. He depicts an enjoyment, pride, and  love for life that is seldom seen these days. His viewpoint and perspective are necessary against a backdrop of sadness, anger, and bitterness in the world.

Finally, I have always loved the works of my former drawing professor, Phillip Mullen. I learned to be meticulous in the details and still develop a style distinguishable from everyone else.

Jasper: What are you working on now, will we get to see it, and if so, where, and when?

King: I try to produce at least one painting a week. I sometimes take time out to tell my own family's stories. To that end, I ended 2021 with an addition to my private collection titled: “Grandparents” 12/30. 

I began 2022 with a painting titled: “Wings to fly,” to be included in an upcoming exhibit along with six other paintings at the Richland Library’s “The art of being: Woman” exhibit  – February. 

Catching up with Visual Artist Gerard Erley

“A work of art which did not begin in emotion is not art.”  - Paul Cezanne

 Homeward - oil on linen panel - 10 x 10 inches

Jasper: Can you tell us about your background - where you were born and raised, where you went to school, and how you came to live in Columbia?

 Erley: I was born in Springfield, Illinois. Progressing through a Catholic grade school and an all-boys Catholic high school, I went to college an hour from home, getting my undergraduate - and later my graduate - degree in art from Illinois State University. I worked various jobs, my longest (other than self-employed artist) being as a graphic artist for the Illinois Department of Corrections. 

Over ten years ago, I came to Columbia with my partner (now husband) Lemuel Watson when he accepted a deanship at the University of South Carolina. I taught art at USC for a few semesters, before devoting myself solely to painting. I felt the role of teacher could be filled by another, whereas only I could create the paintings signed with my name.

Matter-of-Fact Nude - oil on linen panel - 14 x 11 inches

Jasper: Where does your life as an artist fit into this trajectory? 

Erley: I was drawn to art making early on as a way of comprehending the world. If I could picture something, I felt I could begin to understand it. As one of eight kids, drawing also allowed me a quiet retreat away from the bustling family, a place where I could get to know myself as an individual and not just one of the herd. 

When the idea of choosing a profession later presented itself, I was debating between the life of a Catholic priest and that of an artist. Contemplating a future life of celibacy just as I was beginning to explore my own sexuality quickly turned my career choice toward the arts. Nonetheless, I do regard art as a spiritual calling, the studio as a church. I can’t help recalling Van Gogh’s failed attempt as a preacher before becoming a painter. 

Once I was set on the life of an artist and I got my college education, I worked part-time at various jobs, which allowed time in the studio. When fortune smiled, art sales alone sustained me.  

Aside from landscape painting, which is my bread and butter (though the slices can be thin at times!), I also paint still lifes, figures, portraits, and the occasional abstract piece. While generally my landscapes and abstracts are totally invented, the other work uses a different muscle, one requiring a deep look into what lies immediately before me. Meditating on an apple or a face, the world opens up in a surprising way. That has worked to my advantage in winning the ArtFields portrait competition in Lake City where I needed to complete three consecutive one-hour portrait in three rounds.

Dark Day Dawning - oil on canvas - 36 x 48 inches

In exploring the idiom of landscape painting, my vision sometimes takes a somber tone. "Dark Day Dawning" is perhaps a cautionary tale, an omen of a future born of present-day missteps.

Jasper:  When did you start realizing accolades as an artist and, of them, what has been most  meaningful to you? 

Erley: I received a silver dish (engraved with the obscure phrase “Best in Junior Miscellaneous”) for a drawing at the Illinois State Fair when I was fourteen or so. Since then, I have been the recipient of over 120 prizes, grants, and purchase awards. I am most proud of those I received from representatives of the St. Louis Art Museum, the Indianapolis Art Museum, the Fogg Art Museum (Harvard University) and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. To have those “in the know” get your work is indeed validating. However, it is the hundreds of people who have chosen to live with my paintings that holds the most meaning for me. I truly believe my job as a painter is not finished when a work leaves my studio. Instead, it requires an engaged viewer to complete it, to coax out its ultimate meaning. To know that so many people have chosen to take on that task is indeed humbling. 

Jasper: Who have been and continue to be your greatest artistic influences, how have they influenced you, and do you see them in your own work? 

Erley: Perhaps my greatest artistic influence has been George Inness, the 19th-century American landscape painter. His poetic and painterly approach sets him apart from earlier landscape painters. He chose to steer away from detail for detail’s sake, as well as the grandiose compositions favored by his contemporaries of the Hudson River School, such as Frederic Edwin Church and Albert Bierstadt. Instead, he focused on semi-abstract compositions based on an underlying spiritual philosophy. Light infuses the scene to create a sometimes-mystical mood, though it is often married with an undeniable veracity to nature. 

Aside from him, there is J. M. W. Turner (British), Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot (French), and Caspar David Friedrich (German). All share a romantic vision centered on a transcendent quality of light.  

A contemporary painter whose work I enjoy is Joan Nelson. She will “quote” pieces of old master paintings in her intimate paintings. When I feel myself stretching in a more abstract direction, Brian Rutenberg’s colorful compositions inspire me.

Jasper: What have been your greatest artistic challenges and how have you met them or how are you meeting them? 

Erley: My biggest challenge is to remain fully engaged and juiced by the process of painting. Like any act of love, it requires an openness and awareness to what is called for in that moment. I fall short of the mark when I am distracted, uncertain, when I’d rather be someplace other than in the studio. 

I know that viewers will only be excited by my work if I am. That’s something that can’t be fudged. I’ve seen so many glib, slick, uninteresting paintings in my life, I just feel it does the profession a real injustice. To be invested emotionally and to embed those emotions in paint is always my goal.  

To learn more about Erley’s work and see additional paintings visit his website at gerarderley.com.

"It's Been a While" - Group Art Exhibition at Outpost Arts Space by Ron Hagell (Guest Writer)

“It’s Been a While”

Group Art Exhibition at Outpost Arts Space

715 Saluda Ave., April 3 – 24, 2021

Care. Comfort, and Kindness by Olga Yukhno

The Free Times leads off it’s piece in this week’s paper by saying, “Artists get lonely, too”.  In fact, this was one spark for this exhibition that helped to start it. Flavia Lovatelli, Kristi Ryba (a Charleston artist) and I were discussing how long it had been since we went to an opening and the general lack of exhibitions over the pandemic year. We decided that it might be possible to ask if the Outpost’s new exhibition space might be available in April. It turned out that the space was free and Caitlin Bright was very interested in helping get us off the ground. I’m not sure we were all “lonely,” maybe just missing what had become a rather active arts scene in Columbia. But once the artists started showing up with work this week, I realized how much I missed seeing everyone – so did they!  Our exhibition, “It’s Been a While,” opens on April 3 at Outpost Arts Space in Five Points.

You may remember that this group [along with the Jasper Project] used to be in the Tapp’s building on Main Street and we always had a new exhibition each “First Thursday on Main.” Then we were called The Tapp’s Arts Center and some still refer to us as “Tapp’s Outpost.” There are similarities between the two, the people and mission continue, but many things have changed beyond the actual location.

You may recall that, in addition to our exhibitions, we also had open studios (where shopping was possible) and you could pick-up a beer to start your art crawl on Main. Now we all know that First Thursday is not the same now that most of the “art” on Main has left for many reasons. For us, this location has made a big difference. Obviously the amount and character of the space is a vast difference, but the foot-traffic is very different. Often at Tapp’s we had very few visitors except for exhibit nights, but in Five Points there is a constant flow and some of us have experienced much better sales.

… we are hopeful that “It’s Been a While” will continue the spark of creative activity and be the rebirth of more and better days for our whole Columbia arts scene

There are also plans afoot to improve our new home and build even more and better studio/workshops inside and behind the existing shop fronts, as well as collaborative activities with the vast space behind the White Mule that is scheduled for future renovations. 

But, we are hopeful that “It’s Been a While” will continue the spark of creative activity and be the rebirth of more and better days for our whole Columbia arts scene. We invited many artists to join us and have a real cross-section of folks taking part.  Charleston-based artist Kristi Ryba, whom we met in 2019 while participating in Lake City’s annual ArtFields competition, has agreed to show two new works and many more local friends also wanted to take part.  There are sculptures by Olga Yukhno and Sharon Licata and a couple of large hanging fabric pieces by Janet Swigler. Columbia Photographer Molly Harrell shows her recent work and I’m putting in an older video because it just speaks to this moment so well. But, I’m also showing a few smaller paintings that I’ve been working on during this downtime.

In fact many others are showing works that deal directly with the pandemic such as Gerard Erley’s “Pandemic Cardinals” and more – not to be missed.

Pandemic Cardinals by Gerard Erley

Also showing are works by Susan Lenz, Michael Krajewski, Keith Tolen, Bonnie Goldberg, Stephen Chesley, Heidi Darr Hope, Kirkland Smith, Tabitha Ott, Diko Pekdemir, and Flava Lovatelli. Some have direct connections to our past year and the pandemic or the political shift while others do not. It is a very eclectic event. 

ABC by Michael Krajewski

As always our group wants to engage the community in ongoing conversation and creative connections. But now we really need to catch-up after over a year. It’s 17 artists wanting you to see their work and, as Caitlin says, she anticipates “a lot of sharing, commiserating, sympathy and empathy.”

Because, it’s been a while…

Ron Hagell, Studio Artist, Outpost Arts Space

Ron Hagell is a Columbia, SC-based artist who makes films and art with installations featuring paintings, projections, prints and film centered on portraiture.

Teacups by Kirkland Smith

If you haven’t joined the Jasper Project Guild yet this year, now is a good time to do so, guaranteeing that YOUR NAME will appear in the next issue of Jasper Magazine, releasing May 2021 and, depending on your contribution level, securing you a space at some of the limited seating events Jasper has in the works for the coming year.

Plus, everyone gets to see your name here!