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!

Featured Artist at Jasper's Sidewalk Gallery at the Meridian Building - Gretchen Evans Parker

Gretchen Evans Parker

Gretchen Evans Parker, CPSA/CPX - OTRL/ret., Is a retired pediatric/hippotherapist (horse) occupational therapist. She has embarked on a second career in fine art since retiring. The avant garde medium of colored pencil allows her to achieve great detail and realism in her paintings. In her wildest dreams, Gretchen could never imagine how well-received her art would be nor where it would take her.  

Her commissioned portraits hang in homes around the Midlands and North America. Her work has won many awards and honors including signature status in the Colored Pencil Society of America. She is also a juried member of the International Guild of Realism. Gretchen has written extensively on colored pencil artwork.

Her work has been featured in several publications locally, nationally, and internationally. In the evening, to relax from a day at the easel, Gretchen creates baskets from pine needles and found objects. They can take weeks/months to complete. Many become gifts or commissions.

- Kimber Carpenter

Josef Berliner’s “Black and Blues” Collection Now Featured in the Jasper Galleries’ Nook

Reception

Thursday March 21st

5:30 - 7 pm

The Nook at the Koger Center for the Arts

The Jasper Project is proud to welcome Josef Berliner as our new artist-in-residence in the Nook, our gallery location in the Koger Center for the Arts. The opening reception for his show coincides with March’s Third Thursday—the 21st—and goes from 5:30 to 7 p.m. The reception is free and open to the public.

Dedicated to making the world a more beautiful place “one canvas at a time,” Josef has held the drive to create art since he was a child. His artistic journey grew with every gifted sketchpad and drawing pencil, until he got to college where he double majored in Theatre and Studio Art.

Josef affixes the signature “Jobey” to his paintings; in Josef’s words, “Jobey is the more outgoing and confident alter ego. Behind the mask is a thoughtful, somewhat shy, and introspective artist.” His confidence as an artist shines through with each portrait in the exhibition, all focused on different Black women musicians who helped shape the blues and jazz scenes.

Josef has been recognized as a contributor to many charitable causes, always willing to give of himself as much as possible. He has been cited for his participation in organizations such as Bullets and Band-Aids, the USC Department of Dance Gala (in which he also serves as a board member), the Atlantic Institute, and was most recently honored as a featured artist for the Artists for Africa winter event.

He works predominantly in oil on canvas, with a keen eye for detail and the innate ability to look far deeper than the mere surface, all the while seeking for a level of perfection that, while perhaps unattainable, is indeed his ultimate and far-reaching goal.

 

Jasper's Sidewalk Gallery at the Meridian Building Featured Artist - Debi Kelley

The Jasper Project welcomes four new artists to our 24/7 gallery space in the large streetside windows of the Meridian Building along Washington and Sumter Streets in downtown Columbia. Our board of directors member and Sidewalk Gallery curator, Kimber Carpenter, shares the goods on a new artist each week. This week we’re featuring the artist, Debi Kelley!

Debi enjoys painting classic cars/trucks, wildlife and the colorful landscapes of the South. She is currently an Associate Member of the Pastel Society of America and a Master Pastelist with the Southeastern Pastel Society.  She is also a member of the Pastel Society of SC and the Crooked Creek Art League.  She has received awards in international, regional and local shows, including the Pastel Society of SC, Southeastern Pastel Society, Union County Arts Council, Fairfield County Arts Council, Spartanburg Art Museum, SC State Fair and Crooked Creek Art League.  Her work has also been exhibited at ArtFields.
"My goal as an artist is to draw the viewer in to the painting for a closer look by using liberal touches of color, unusual angles, and detailed drawing to capture movement and life.  I want my audience to create their own story while traveling through the painting."

Join The Jasper Project for Dogon Krigga’s Closing Reception and Artist Talk at Koger

The Jasper Project and the Koger Center for the Arts have teamed up to showcase the work of Dogon Krigga in The Nook, the rotating Jasper Gallery in the latter’s second floor lobby. The work will be up until the third week of March, but we will host a Closing Reception and Artist Talk for the exhibition on March 13 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Dogon will be present to give a talk about Afrosurrealism in art, what inspires them to create, and the intentions behind each piece. Additional prints and merchandise of Dogon’s will be available for purchase during this reception! We are excited to work with Jared Johnson, the onsite photographer and reporter, for the evening, who will be moderating the talk.

Dogon’s Artist Statement:

I use vinyl, paper, and other media on a variety of surfaces to create mixed media collages and murals printed on vinyl, paper, and other adhesive substrates. I draw inspiration from spiritual principles and esoteric concepts found across the African Diaspora to create surrealist artworks at serve as portals into other worlds, and viewsations of Queer, Black people, culture, and identity in an alternate dimension. I use these materials and approaches to encourage the viewer to experience and seek the subtle and unseen worlds, while reflecting on their place in it. I use my work to challenge the status quo and disrupt the conventions of what we know to be cisgendered, heteronormative, and patriarchal ideologies, while offering something beautiful and uplifting in its place. Through this creative process, I seek to make a real way of being in, thinking of, and viewing the universe that celebrates, preserves, and restores historically excluded communities.

Jasper Welcomes "Embracing Your Inner Child: The Art of Cait Patel" to Jasper's Tiny Gallery for March

DOT MATRIX

Cait Patel, also known as “The Blissful Hippie,” has been popping up around the local art scene with her bright, inviting abstract paintings for some time now. Learn more about Jasper’s March Tiny Gallery artist here!

 

Patel has called South Carolina home for life, growing up around the Cayce area. She has loved art since she was a child, inspired by her father, who is also an artist and one of her biggest supporters. This led to her studying Studio Art at the University of South Carolina and graduating with a degree in 2014.

 

“I used to love drawing, which was my focus in college, but as I got older, I got more into abstract work,” she recalls. “I was inspired by the great abstract artists of the past like Matisse and Picasso and that has very much influenced the kind of work I do now.”

 

Once she started painting, Patel couldn’t walk away from it, saying that she “love[s] painting because of how free and colorful it is.”

 

Mostly, Patel focuses on abstract expressionism, presently inspired by the flowers and plants she collects around her home. Her paintings are an encapsulation of the nature around her everyday life, and this liveliness is key to her work.

 

“My goal is to create something and nothing at the same time. I love color and want to brighten spaces with my work,” Patel shares. “But I love that everyone can see something different in a heavily abstracted work of art.”

 

ARCHIVE

Patel continuously works to connect to her inner child—something she believes everyone has—and she hopes her work will help others connect to this as well. Part of this connection is letting go of “rules and restrictions” of what her work “should” look like.

 

“I don’t want to put a lot of restriction on myself when creating a new painting because I want it to be the truest expression of my feelings in that moment,” she says. “However, if I want to create a cohesive set of pieces, I may stick to one color scheme or style for a body of work.”

 

When it comes to actually putting a piece on canvas, Patel rarely has a concrete plan, instead selecting a color scheme and simply going with the flow. Though ideas may form in her head, she tries to resist any boundaries, following the piece as it grows and shifts organically.

 

“I also frequently ‘finish’ a piece and hate it and then immediately paint over it. I feel a work isn’t fully finished until I can look at it and say, ‘I love this, and it makes me feel like an artist’, she says. “That’s typically my gauge of when a piece is done. This can take anywhere from three days to three months.”

 

For this Tiny Gallery show, Patel made a whole new slate of pieces, each rife with the unboundaried colors she loves. On the show, she says:

 

I like to think of this show as my Summer Love collection. I wanted to evoke feelings of excitement about spring flowers and warm weather. Two things which I dearly love! I want my paintings to be eye catching and bright and to inspire others to their creative pursuits. My favorites are probably “Dot Matrix” and “Boba Party.” I love bright neon colors juxtaposed with black as it tends to really make a piece pop! I also have been experimenting more with having the frame be a part of the artwork, which is why I really love “Dot Matrix.”

Excitingly, this is Patel’s first solo show. Though this is the case, she has participated in other shows, and she recently took part in the Art for Africa fundraiser, which is an experience she holds dear.

 

“I really love doing fundraisers or gift pieces as an artist,” she says. “I love being able to use my art voice as a way to help others.”

 

To peruse and purchase her works from this show, check out Jasper’s virtual Tiny Gallery, and to stay updated on Patel as she continues to work towards larger piece and an in-person gallery show, follow her on Instagram @the_blissful_hippie

Jasper Collabs with Richland Library for A BIG TINY GALLERY Art Exhibition March 15th through ARTISTA VISTA

The Jasper Project is delighted to join forces with Richland Library for A BIG TINY GALLERY, an art exhibition inspired by the Jasper Project’s Tiny Gallery series which originated in the Jasper studio at Tapp’s Arts Center in October 2018 and transitioned to an online only project early during the Covid pandemic. A BIG TINY GALLERY will feature a selection of previous Jasper Project Tiny Gallery artists who were invited to show and sell physically smaller pieces of art at affordable price points that would ostensibly be more attractive to beginning art collectors and other artists. No art measures more than 25 inches in any direction or is priced over $250.

The exhibition will open on Friday March 15th  from 7 – 11 pm during Richland Library’s OVERDUE: Curated for the Creative event, with a closing reception on Friday, April 19th from 6:30 – 8:30 as part of Richland Library’s celebration of Artista Vista.  Both events are free and open to the public.

Visual artist and Jasper Project board of directors member, Keith Tolen, is managing this project, working with Ashley Warthen, who is a librarian and arts coordinator at Richland Library.

Artist - Renee Rouillier

Participating artists include Tennyson Corley, Ginny Merritt, Chilly Waters (Richard Hill), Regina Langston, Benji Hicks, Ron Hagell, Christopher Lane, Keith Tolen, Lucas Sams, Lindsay Radford Wiggins, Thomas Washington, K. Wayne Thornley, Jeffrey Miller, Kathryn Van Aernum, Mary Ann Haven, Fred Townsend, Adam Corbett, Crush Rush, Vanessa DeVore, Pascal Bilgis, Michael Krajewski, and Sean Rayford.

Artist - Sean Rayford

The Jasper Project will oversee sales of art via QR codes, scannable with a smart phone anytime the library is open.  Proceeds go directly to the publication of Jasper Magazine.

The Jasper Project is an all-volunteer organization with no paid employees and a working board of directors who manage a number of multidisciplinary projects ranging from the Second Act Film Project to Fall Lines literary journal, the Play Right series, and many more one-off adventures. For more information please visit JasperProject.org.

Opening Friday March 15th  from 7 – 11 pm during Richland Library’s OVERDUE: Curated for the Creative

~

Closing Reception on Friday, April 19th from 6:30 – 8:30 during ARTISTA VISTA

Jasper's Sidewalk Gallery at the Meridian Building Featured Artist -- REGINA LANGSTON

Regina Langston

Gina’s paintings embody the goddess mystique, celebrating the curves and edges of the feminine form using intense colors and vividly bold compositions. While she often varies her subject matter, her work largely focuses on the female figure as well as on the myriad faces of the nonbinary human spirit.

At first glance, it is easy to see the influences of Picasso and Klimt in Gina’s paintings. However, she has a wide portfolio of inspiration, including the whimsical post-war modernist work of a lesser-known painter, the late Friedensreich Hundertwasser of Austria, whose wildly colorful work was punctuated with organic shapes and spirals.

Gina returned to the Palmetto State with her family in 2018 and currently resides in The Avenues of Cayce. Her work has been exhibited at numerous SC venues, including 701 Whaley, Tapp’s Arts Center, University of South Carolina at Beaufort, and – most         recently – as part of Jasper Magazine’s “Tiny Gallery” series. She was featured in The Limelight, A Compendium of Contemporary Columbia Artists, Volume II, published by Muddy Ford Press in 2015. She has a studio in downtown Columbia, where she creates her own works and accepts commissions

Jasper's Sidewalk Gallery at The Meridian Building Featured Artist - CAROLINE CLARK

Caroline Clark

My functional ceramic sculptures highlight a sense of joy and wonder in everyday items. I explore my own variations of the hidden symbiotic systems of coral reefs and mycelium networks: systems that seem simple and beautiful at first, but upon closer examination are wildly complicated and predicated on mutual care. These systems in which every part depends on the others, and in which every part is vital and precious, draw a parallel to our human communities and support systems and invite examination of our own interconnectedness, growth, and movement.

I believe in magic. Not the potions and poof! kind, not the creation of another more beautiful and mysterious world, but the deep and unshakable knowledge that this, our world, is more extraordinary, strange, and awe-inspiring than any I could imagine. My work highlights that magic, refines and amplifies it, revealing a secret world nestled into the fabric of our own.

Jasper's Sidewalk Gallery at The Meridian Building Featured Artist - BOHUMILA AUGUSTINOVA

Bohumila Augustinova

Augustinova spent her childhood in Czechoslavakia, now known as the Czech Republic.  She recalls that her younger years were spent always making something and that she could “never keep her hands still.”

My mom and dad were very supportive, so even as a small child they taught me how to knit, crochet, sew, cook and use power tools.”  Augustinova remembers, “My mom and I used to make all the costumes for me and my brothers, and I was making my own clothes by the time I was 9.”

Augustinova used to experience and passion to pursue fashion design, which she received a degree in, but soon after, she desired a fresh artistic venture and has since worked with primarily wire art and pottery, being self-taught in both.

Augustinova notes that beyond being inspired to make art, the process of making is inspiring and therapeutic all on its own.  She insists that the mutable clay sliding under her hands and the constant hum of the wheel moving is meditative, and she often throws with her eyes closed.

“What I hope is that people will see my pottery as usable art.  Almost all of my pottery is fully glazed and food safe.  I love seeing flower arrangements in my vases, and I love people drinking out of my cups.”  Augustinova effuses.  “One of my favorite pottery moments was when a friend told me that he was visiting a friend and his tea was served in one of my mugs.”

Jasper's Sidewalk Gallery at The Meridian Building Featured Artist - ANNA HERRERA

I am a local artists originally from Charlotte NC, but I have lived in Columbia for 15 years. I work with acrylic paint mostly, sketch, and use charcoal in my free time. I enjoy the downtown area, going to art events and markets that support locals. I hope to one day have my own show at my mother’s restaurant, Sound Bites Eatery, which is located on Sumter street that regularly hosts art shows and events.

I take art lessons when I can at Painting with a Twist gallery located in the Harbison area, which I’ve been going to for years. I hope to learn more about painting and how to apply different techniques and materials to my work. Expanding my knowledge can benefit my work and allow me to further my potential as an artist as well as become better recognized for more future showing opportunities.

Jasper Welcomes MICHAEL KRAJEWSKI to SOUND BITES EATERY GALLERY for First Thursday

A veteran of Jasper Galleries, we’re excited to bring artist Michael Krajewski to our gallery space at Sound Bites Eatery, which is one of our favorite places to admire and discuss art with so many of our Midlands area friends. The exhibition opens Thursday night, during First Thursday, at 6 pm. Sound Bites is located at 1425 Sumter Street, just a short block off Main

Jasper asked Krajewski for a little tease about what he is bringing to Sound Bites and he’s what he gave us:


Jasper: What have you been working on lately and what should we expect to see in this new show? Any surprises? 

Krajewski: I've been doing a bit of everything! Commissions, teaching private lessons, and ongoing mural work at the Black Rooster. Newest mix media project is a 72in trout sculpture for City of Columbia. For the new show at Sound Bites, folks can expect to see some familiar favorites and some new smaller pieces, as well as some older work. I do have a new larger piece that I'll be showing for the first time, but no spoilers there [puts on his best Matthew McConaughey impression] 'Wouldn't be a surprise if I told ya, now would it?"

 

Jasper: There seems to be a new and unique quality to your work -- have you noticed it? to what do you attribute this? 

Krajewski: I can't really say that I've noticed. That's really interesting though, and I'll take it as a compliment. I think my art evolves with me, so I'd like to think that it's just a sign my own evolution. 

 

Jasper:  Can you tell us about 2 or 3 of your favorite pieces that you will be offering at this show?  

Krajewski: This show is sprinkled through with notes on love and nostalgia... I'm hoping folks check out "Holding hands" (especially if you like otters in party hats) I just finished a mix media piece (paint on a record) Titled "Love Me for What I am" that I hope people respond to. 

Thanks Michael! We’ll see you all this Thursday night, February 1st, 2024 from 6 - 9 pm!

For more info on Jasper Galleries and to submit YOUR WORK for consideration, please check us out here!

Amy Kuenzie at Sound Bites Eatery!

Amy Kuenzie is Jasper’s featured artist at Sound Bites Eatery this month!

A native South Carolinian currently based in Lexington, Kuenzie says her artistic inspiration is the beauty in everyday life and attributes this policy to “the result of living in the moment and seeking refuge from memories of trauma.”

Kuenzie’s favorite medium is acrylic and she uses special techniques such as bokeh (bokeh is the aesthetic quality of the blur produced in out-of-focus parts of an image) and brush work to create depth and focus.

Kuenzie studied art for seven years in her youth but did not pursue further education after high school. After retiring, she began painting as a means of therapy for C-PTSD. Her work has been included in over a dozen shows including Piccolo Spoleto 2022 at City Gallery, in Charleston, SC.

According to Kuenzie, “Borrowing subjects from my life or nature, I use color and depth of field to draw the viewer in to see the emotion and personality of each piece.” She continues, “Painting has helped me heal from Complex-PTSD and to connect with my truest self. Through use of value and contrast, I expose and preserve a moment in time and provide the viewer a new perspective on the beauty all around us.”

Kuenzie’s Jasper-sponsored exhibit at Sound Bites will be on view throughout the month of September at 1425 Sumter Street in downtown Columbia, SC.







Jasper Galleries Announces Art Shows at Harbison Theatre featuring David Yaghjian, Michael Krajewski, Lori Isom, and Olga Yukhno

David Yaghjian

The Jasper Project is delighted to announce the next several artists whose work will be featured in the Gallery Space of MTC’s Harbison Theatre at 7300 College Street in Irmo, SC.

Following the closing of the Steven White show on October 28th, we will be opening an exhibition by renown Columbia-based artist, David Yaghjian. Yaghjian’s work will show from early November through mid-January. We will celebrate Yaghjian’s art with a special reception on Sunday afternoon, December 11th in conjunction with the Holiday Pops concert by the SC Philharmonic. The reception will begin at 2:30 followed by the concert at 3:30. While the reception is free tickets to the concert may be purchased at Harbison theatre.

Following the Yaghjian exhibit, Jasper will welcome Columbia-based artist Michael Krajewski on Friday, January 20th, 2023. Krajewski’s exhibit will coincide with a concert featuring the comedy offerings of Tom Papa. A (free) reception for Krajewski’s work will begin at 6:30, followed by the Tom Papa show at 7:30. Tickets.

Lori Isom

On Friday, February 24, 2023, Jasper has invited Columbia/Camden-based artist Lori Isom to open a show of her work in conjunction with a concert by Camden native and country rockstar Patrick Davis. Reception (free) at 6:30 and concert at 7:30. Tickets.

And on Saturday, April 1st, artist Olga Yukhno will open a showing of her 2D and 3D ceramics at the Harbison Theatre Gallery in conjunction with a Concert by the tenor trio GENTRI. Reception at 6:30 and concert at 7:30. Tickets.

For more information on Harbison art please contact the Jasper Project at   jasperprojectcolumbia@gmail.com. For more information about performances please contact Harbison Theatre at  Harbisontheatre@midlandstech.edu

Tonight! Meet the Artist - Michael Dwyer at Motor Supply - & read this essay by Catherine Walworth

Join Jasper and Michael Dwyer this evening in the bar at Motor Supply Co. Bistro to chat about and celebrate Dwyer’s new exhibit in the restaurant gallery. This is a casual affair with patrons gathering around the large communal table and at the bar, having dinner, drinks, and stimulating conversation with and about the work of one of Columbia’s most exciting contemporary artists.

Jasper and Dwyer will be arriving at 7.

To kick things off we present this lovely essay composed by a dear friend to Columbia, Catherine Walworth, Ph.D.

Painting is a visual language that speaks with its own rhythm, organizational syntax, and lyrical cadence. To look at Michael Dwyer’s paintings is to give yourself over to looking at colors and shapes and textures that exist playfully on the surface of a plane, yet in a seriously complicated way.

At first, one’s eye wants to track the upper layer of painted structures that bend and jerk like a conga line of conjoined dancers, and then you see how many layers and purposefully altered decisions went into the build-up of his paint below. Dwyer thinks of these strata as akin to the layering of instruments and the interweaving medley of sounds that happens over time in a piece of music.

Also like jazz, there is a tension between the sense of control and improvisation in Dwyer’s paintings. One can follow the jig across the painted surface, where bars of color bend and intersect, approach the limits of the painting’s edge only to stop short, or carry on into imagined elsewheres. Each bar is a different color, and in that bar are layers of past color choices, sometimes fighting to rise to the surface like a ghost, and other times anonymously adding layers of thickness to the final opaque color choice. This density and subtle quality of relief give the paintings an objectness, and asks the viewer to walk back and forth to take in little shadows, amplifying the sense of rhythm and movement.

Dwyer uses a palette knife to scrape and smooth paint, but also whatever is at hand. While he used to paint in a more organic, rounded, and gestural way with a brush, now he is a happy workman, troweling his bricks of color into built worlds. The paint layers in the background offer up clouds of color on which the hard-edged bars float in a colorful ether. As with Kazimir Malevich’s or Ellsworth Kelly’s geometric forms that hover on the painted surface, seeming to take a living breath, there is a sense of “being in the world” in Dwyer’s forms in space. They, too, feel as if they are hovering and jostling, announcing their impossible sentience.

Dwyer and I have at various times marveled over painting and how so many seemingly disparate parts could come together in a composition that teeters on the edge of falling apart during the making, only to have the artist stop when it seems inexplicably “right.” There is a resolution that cannot always be explained, particularly when there is no figurative subject matter to gauge, but the result is astounding, and each time the conditions of a painting’s “rightness” are excitingly different.

But then, Dwyer has been trained from childhood to recognize the fitness of compositions. His parents, both painters, raised him in a home in which modernism was the thing, and took him to museums as a natural practice. His paintings speak directly to so many of the artists’ styles that he has absorbed by faithful looking— Paul Klee, Brice Marden, Piet Mondrian, Elizabeth Murray, and Frank Stella, to name a few. Stuart Davis is close to home at this stage in Dwyer’s career. Like Davis who pronounced his direct connection with jazz, Dwyer comes back again and again to his love of music when describing his process, as well as his evangelical adherence to abstraction.

The Jasper Gallery at Motor Supply Co. Bistro Welcomes the Art of Mike Dwyer

Meet the Artist

Friday, July 15th @ 7 pm

in the Bistro Bar

BAD WORDS

2022
acrylic on panel
12 in. x 16 in.

In the Jasper Project’s continued efforts to facilitate the exhibition of the art of Midlands-based artists on Columbia’s public walls we welcome the work of Michael David Dwyer to Motor Supply Co. Bistro at 920 Gervais Street in Columbia’s historic Congaree Vista.

In his decades-spanning practice, Michael Dwyer has focused on making abstract paintings that place color front and center. His recent work deploys crisp-edged chunks of translucent color that meander, zigzag, or float through the composition. The paintings are improvisational structures that often reveal evidence of their evolution.

LEXIKON

2022
acrylic on panel
14 in. x 18 in.

Dwyer holds a BFA from Syracuse University and an MFA from the University of South Carolina. His work has been exhibited in Syracuse, Providence, and various cities in South Carolina. Most recently, Dwyer's work was included in the exhibition The Shape of Things at 701 Center for Contemporary Art.  

GHOST NOTES

2021
acrylic on panel
14 in. x 11 in.

Dwyer says, “As a kid, I was surrounded by modern art at home - mostly my father’s paintings. I loved visiting my dad's studio. I liked the spattered dishevelment, the smell of paint, and the paintings that I couldn't fully understand, but instinctively grasped, as the works came to life. I knew at an early age that making art was something I wanted to pursue.

“A sense of movement has been an important element in my work for many years. Earlier pieces often conveyed a feeling of forms drifting in space. Then there was a shift toward using linear compositions to create direction. I wanted your eye to move along a variety of paths and have experiences along the way. My paintings relate to movement, physically, but also as it exists in music. I also found from my earlier collage work that I like shapes in my paintings to have crisp, assertive edges, like those that came from using scissors. Pieces are sometimes informed by elements of our environment like billboards, architecture, and graffiti. Ultimately, I’m always chasing that transcendent moment where color, shape, and movement come together in a way that‘s thrilling and right.”

The Artist - Michael Dwyer

The show opens on Tuesday July 12th with an invitation to Meet the Artist on Friday, July 15th in the bistro bar at 7 pm.

CANDACE THIBEAULT Opens New Show at Jasper Gallery at MOTOR SUPPLY

The Jasper Galleries at Motor Supply Company’s newest show, featuring South Carolina native Candace Cotterman Thibeault, opens this week.

 Candace grew up in Gilbert, South Carolina. Her interest in art began at an early age and progressed through high school and into college. Candace graduated from Capital University (Columbus, OH) with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree, and degrees in Public Relations and Art Therapy. Upon graduating college in 2003, she relocated to Boston, MA, to begin her professional career. She found herself working as a paralegal and a part time gallery assistant.

 In 2004, Candace purchased an art gallery and custom frame shop, while continuing her painting career. Candace found herself working on projects with pharmaceutical companies, architectural firms, local universities, and restaurants, where she was responsible for matching interior design with fine art pieces. In 2009, Candace began working on a series of contemporary mixed media paintings that would gain visual recognition. Her work began to show in art galleries and at Universities throughout New England and was featured in several online and hard copy publications. In 2015, Candace relocated to South Carolina with her husband and daughter and has been focusing more attention on her fine art. She spends most of her time teaching and painting from her home studio in Gilbert, SC.

In addition to her fine art endeavors, Candace has spent time working as an artist-in-residence, aiding in creating art curriculum for adolescents in alternative schools. She has worked on independent projects such as the Ohio Bicentennial, jewelry lines featured in Charlotte Magazines 'best gifts' holiday spread and has served as juror for several university art shows in New England. 

Candace's work has been featured in Art New England Magazine, Art Scope Magazine (Boston, Ma), and Charlotte Magazine (Charlotte, NC). Her work has been featured at Imago Gallery (Warren, RI), Bristol Art Museum, Bridgewater State University (Bridgewater, MA), Bromfield Gallery (Boston), 701 Whaley (Columbia, SC), Duxbury Art Association, Motor Supply (Columbia, SC), Koger Center for the Arts (Columbia, SC), Anastasia & Friends (Columbia, SC) and Moxie Frame (Hartsville, SC). 

The opening reception for Candace’s show will be held at Motor Supply Co. this Friday, March 11th at 6:30pm at the back table of the restaurant.