MIRCI hosts the 10th year of 52 Windows Highlighting Columbia SC Artists

Celebrating its 10th inaugural year, Mirci will host 52 Windows – An Evening of Art, on May 18th at 701 Whaley from 6-9pm. The annual fundraiser showcases the work of talented local artists while encouraging support of Mirci’s mission to provide wrap-around services, including behavioral healthcare and supportive housing, to individuals experiencing mental illness in the Midlands. Come enjoy an evening of art including heavy hors d’oeuvres by Aberdeen Catery, an open bar, and live music. Tickets are on sale now at mirci.org/events.

Aldo Muzzarelli

Introducing Featured Artists – Aldo Muzzarelli and Ginny Merett

Among this year’s featured artists is Aldo Muzzarelli, a Venezuelan-born artist who has gained international recognition. Aldo holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Central University of Venezuela, has worked as an illustrator at the Inter-American Center of Languages (CIDI -Caracas), and was an animator on several films produced by the Film Department at the University of Los Andes. He served for several years as Director of Culture of his hometown and taught at training workshops in fine arts all around Venezuela.

He performed specialized studies in Spain (Fresco Painting Techniques, Restoration of Paintings on Canvas, Stucco­marble, Dorados al agua y estofados en oro fino (fine gold), Stained Glass and Grisailles) and frequented the atelier of the great Venezuelan master Abdon Romero in Florida, US. In 2010, Aldo created several monumental works for the Cathedral of San Pedro in Caracas, and he opened his own gallery in Tinaquillo. Aldo Muzzarelli has participated in individual and group exhibitions in Venezuela, the United States, Spain, and Italy; and has received 49 awards since his arrival in the U.S. in 2013. He currently resides in Mauldin, SC.

Ginny Merett

Recently named one of the Top 15 Artists in Columbia, SC by Influence Digest (8/2022), Ginny Merett joins the lineup of featured artists.

Known for her eccentric collage works, Ginny has been an artist and art educator for over four decades. Through those years she used various media to create art, but for the last ten years, devoted her time to creating multimedia collage pieces. Inspired by stylish women and ordinary faces and images, she portrays unique characters using parts and pieces from current day and vintage media.

Ginny’s collage pieces have been shown in solo and group exhibits at Stormwater Studio, ArtFields, Koger Center for the Arts, the Jasper Project, USC’s McMaster Gallery, SC State Library, 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.

Born and raised in Denver, Ginny has lived in South Carolina since 1987. She constantly sewed, created, and treasured drawing as a child and sought out every art opportunity in school. Because art was such a passion of Ginny’s youth, she studied art education in college where she explored a wide range of disciplines and mediums; and later taught art in public schools for 30 years.

Ginny is a member of Figurativeartists.org and is a member of the Jasper Project Board of Directors. Look for her at ginnymerett.com and on all social platforms.

Jasper Project presents Keith Tolen at Sound Bites for April's First Thursday

THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 2023 AT 6 PM – 9 PM

1425 Sumter Street in Columbia

You’re invited to help Jasper welcome Keith Tolen and his art to First Thursday this month at Sound Bites Eatery on Sumter Street.

Retired educator, protegee of Leo Twiggs, devoted husband, father, and full time artist, Keith Tolen is a man of surprises and his new show at Sound Bites, opening Thursday night as part of April’s First Thursday festivities, makes that clear.

According to Tolen, “My art experience has been both fulfilling and complex. I love the process of creating. In many ways I am more attracted to the process than the product that is produced. The artwork in this collection is an extension of my personal story of searching for meaning in the everyday activities that are around us. Music has always provided me with inspiration for new ideas. I am a big fan of live music, especially jazz. Jazz musicians have provided me with a wealth of subject content. Recently my art has taken on another turn as I explore the nature of the dot or point. The relation of the shape of the dot whether standing alone or clustered in groups has assisted me in finding a new language for my visual communication methods.”

The title of Tolen’s Sound Bites show is Mask-A-Raid III. The evening kicks off at 6 pm and we’re also welcoming instant-portrait artist Jamie Peterson back to help us save our memories of the night and the show.

Free and open to the public. Grab a soup, sandwich, or salad as well as a drink or two, and make yourself at home at Sound Bites, Columbia’s coolest arts cafe!

Artista Vista Returns for its 31st Event the Weekend of April 14-16

Artista Vista returns to the heart of Columbia’s historic Vista District for an art-filled weekend on April 14th - 16th. This weekend-long art extravaganza emphasizes local artists and galleries, live performance, community engagement, and the rich culture of South Carolina’s capital city.  

The event will kick off with a free Art Gallery Crawl from 6-9 PM on Friday, April 14th spanning across The Vista District. Event-goers are also invited to enjoy live music from Ed Stephenson and the Paco Band outside of Blue Marlin on Lincoln Street, courtesy of Grace Outdoor Advertising. Live demonstrations, music, art vendors, and more will also be present in the Huger Street Cluster of art galleries. 

Offerings continue on April 15th for Art Day, a free event located at Stormwater Studios, Lewis + Clark, and One Eared Cow (1001 Huger Street/413 Pendleton Street). Visitors will enjoy a day of live music while viewing collections and live demonstrations by esteemed local artists. 

Additionally, the Light and Lantern Parade will take place later that evening from 8-9 PM. Beginning at the entrance of the Lincoln Street Tunnel, participants will stroll through The Vista with hand-made lanterns in tow while Partly Cloudy leads the public through the streets. Participants are strongly encouraged to visit one of the “creation stations” during the day at either Stormwater Studios or the Richland Library, or on Lincoln Street that evening to construct their own lanterns and enjoy music from a local DJ before the parade begins. 

Artista Vista concludes on Sunday, April 16th with two offerings. Crafty Feast, a free juried craft fair, takes place from 11AM-4PM on the corner of Lincoln and Lady Streets (1300 Lincoln Street), where art-lovers can purchase local art and other gifts from local makers. The weekend rounds out with Live on Lincoln from 5-8PM. This beloved finale event includes a fantastic dinner by Blue Marlin paired with a one-of-a-kind live performance of song and dance on the cobblestones of Lincoln Street. Tickets are required for Live on Lincoln.

In addition to this weekend-long affair of artistic celebration, local artist, Brittany Watkins, will create multiple outdoor, public art installations using found objects in various locations throughout The Vista including the Columbia Visitors Center and near the Lincoln Street Tunnel.

Members of the community are strongly encouraged to participate in Artista Vista ‘23 and follow The Vista on social media for more information, updates, behind-the-scenes, and more at @vistacolumbiasc on Instagram and fb.com/vistacolumbiasc. The event schedule and more can be found on The Vista’s official website, vistacolumbia.com.

Vastness Captured in Small Scale: Nikolai Oskolkov's Tiny Gallery Art

St. Basil’s Cathedral

Jasper’s Tiny Gallery currently features the work of Moscow-born and Columbia-based artist Nikolai Oskolkov, also known as NikO. 

For this series, Oskolkov’s artistry met with the typical constraints of the gallery, most importantly that pieces must be under 15” x 15”, which is smaller than what is typical for an oil painting—Oskolkov’s preferred medium. The artist says that he “love[s] working on small artwork for every benefit that it offers,” and through this collection, he demonstrates a wide variety of approaches that actually utilize this size constraint. 

Interestingly, many of the pieces in this collection are landscapes, which evoke an impressive expansiveness for paintings that are so physically small. The perspective work in these pieces does a lot to contribute to this feeling.

In a painting entitled “Midwestern Plains,” the sky with its large puffy clouds looming over the diminutive strip of grassy plains down below, dotted with buildings in the distance, takes up most of the painting surface. In another painting, “Lagoon,” the lower part of the canvas depicts gently rippling water, which reflects a distorted image of the architecture in the painting’s upper third.  

Laagoon

“This expansiveness is also reflected in a number of pieces portraying Russian architecture from historically and culturally significant monuments, like St. Basil’s Cathedral and Kremlin, to more industrial features, like Downtown Moscow and War Train. These architectural features stretch across the canvas, impressing the viewer with their intimidating stature, seeming at once close and yet far removed from the natural world they’re in front of, in many ways rivaling it.  

In contrast to these vast landscapes, Oskolkov also examines significantly smaller subjects in close ups. The piece Fallen Angel depicts an angel figurine, lying face down, its golden head reflecting something indiscernible. Its upper back is chipped, just behind its wings, and the hole left behind is sizable, offering a glimpse of the darkness in the hollow of the figurine. These details evoke a kind of vastness as well, emphasizing just how much there is to even the smallest subject. 

Be sure to check out Nikolai Oskolkov’s work at the Tiny Gallery here through the end of March! All pieces are under $200, and the artistry is sure to amaze you.

Virginia Russo Joins Saul Seibert for Artists Showing Artists THIS THURSDAY

For the first installation of the Jasper Project’s Artists Showing Artists series taking place this Thursday night at 7 at The Living Room, Saul Seibert chose Artist Virginia Russo as one of the artists he would like to feature. 

Kara Virginia Russo is a visual and performance artist who grew up in the tiny lake towns of 1980's central Florida, before moving north and earning a BFA from Converse College in Spartanburg, SC. After living for a while in both Asia and Europe, she returned to settle with her husband and two children in South Carolina, where she splits her time as an artist between Columbia and Greenville. Her work has been shown in solo and group exhibitions from Charleston to Asheville.  

Most recently, she collaborated on Zion: a Composition by Saul Seibert, contributing album art, projection visuals, merchandise design and creation, and live ritual based performance art.

According to Russo, “My job as an artist is primarily to SEE, and only secondarily to communicate what I see. In expressing what is unseen (both within and without), I have found it helpful to use the visual language of an inner world I think of simply as The Planet. I like to explore the tension of navigating the wild terrain of the unseen from the safety of the imaginary. Think of my work as paintings, photographs, and explorer’s notes from a place you’ve never been, but one which feels immediately familiar.

“My pieces are built of layers upon layers of wet in wet watercolor and ink, relying on long experience to predict what the unleashed media might do, while staying open to surprise. Over the wet media (or occasionally under), I layer pencil, oil and chalk pastel, collage, and embroidery. I think of the wet media as attempts to paint mystery, and the dry media as attempts to expound and interpret to myself what I have painted, like notes in the margin of a well-loved book.” 

Russo continues, “My collaboration with Saul on Zion happened one day while he was looking at some of my recent work. I remember him sending me a message in response to some pieces that read simply, "I know this place."  I felt the same way the first time I heard the beginnings of the music. The work we've done together has been based on that ever since. We are artistically walking the same landscape. I see my role as simply making visible what is already there inside the music. When I listen to Zion, I'm transported to this place that is unique to Zion but is set in some other corner of my own imaginary world that all my work comes from. I can walk around, explore, see the features of this world, and then come back and paint it. The performance art is the same, I use the body as an instrument to convey visually the emotions and narrative of the piece in real time for the audience at live shows. I contribute all visual art for the project, from designing and hand printing the shirts, to the album art, to the bank of film that Ash Lennox, who does our live visual sets, pulls from. It's an incredible piece of music, and I still can't believe I get to collaborate on it. The musicians are phenomenal, I'm blown away every single time they play it.  

“Zion as a project was more or less part of my life as an artist for two years, from the very beginning of the project. It provided the steady thread all through an overseas move back to America, and all the transition that came with it. Zion stayed the same, I think the project kept me sane.  

“When the collaboration began, I had only been making art again for a year after a decade long hiatus. Zion provided the framework I needed to find my voice and confidence. I would ask Saul his opinion, and he would just say that he trusted me completely. I had complete artistic freedom, which was intimidating at first, but challenged me to grow as an artist in ways I'm grateful for. I grew into the project, in a sense. Every now and then, Saul would say something like "wouldn't it be cool if..." and I knew I was about to learn to do something I didn't think I could do. I picked up whole skill sets I had never tried before, ranging from stop motion, to illustration, to block printing. Saul had such confidence in my abilities, anything seemed possible. On top of that, Columbia has welcomed me into the creative community, and I can't imagine making art without all this support.” 

Join Jasper on Thursday night as we facilitate Rebekah Corbett’s project, Artists Showing Artists with Saul Seibert. Saul has invited poet-songwriters, Alyssa Stewart, and NoN (Keith Smyly), as well as his band King Saul and the Heretics. Art will be on display and available for sale by Virginia Russo, Adam Corbett, and Emily Moffitt. 

Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door. 

The Living Room, 6729 Two Notch Road #70, Columbia, SC, 29223

Tickets

jasperproject.org/artists-showing-artists/tickets

Refillable Jasper cups for beer and wine will be available for $10 as well as hotdogs and a selection of baked goods. 

All proceeds go toward supporting the Jasper Project’s mission.

Philip Mullen at Richland Library Main Branch

Join Philip Mullen and Jasper for an exciting Artist-led Tour on Friday, April 28th at 2 pm at Richland Library!

In advance of the release of the Spring 2023 print issue of Jasper Magazine, in which we feature an article on Philip Mullen, Jasper is excited to help share the news that Professor Mullen will be installing a new collection of his work at the Main Branch of the Richland Library at 1431 Assembly Street.

Mullen’s new exhibition, most of which is drawn from his private collection, will consist of 15 new pieces, 14 of which have never been shown in Columbia before.

On Wednesday March 29th from 6 - 7 pm, Mullen will conduct an artist’s talk which is open to the public and will include a look-back at the last 30 years of his work.

But on Friday, April 28th at 2 pm, you are invited to join the Jasper Project for our own tour of the exhibit led by the artist, Philip Mullen, himself!

Meet Artist Mullen and Jasper Project Board Member and singular Artist herself, Ginny Merett, in the lobby of the Main Branch of the Richland Library at 2 pm to begin the tour. The event should last between 45-60 minutes. For more information check out the event on social media.

Tuesday, March 21 – Saturday, May 6

Richland Library, 1431 Assembly Street, Columbia, SC

“Our Story” in Paint – Quincy Pugh’s artistry comes to the Koger Center

After over three decades of support for and appreciation of Columbia’s Koger Center for the Arts, local artist Quincy Pugh will show several of his pieces in the Koger Center’s Nook gallery. The exhibit opens Thursday, March 16th, and there will be an opening ceremony starting at 6:00 p.m., including a brief speech from the artist himself at 7:00.

Pugh, who was born in Atlanta, moved to Columbia in 1988 and witnessed the opening of the Koger Center in 1989. He received his Bachelors of Fine Arts in Studio Art from Augusta University and his Masters of Librarianship from the University of South Carolina. He then went on to serve as the Film and Sound Librarian at the Columbia branch of the Richland Library from 1989 until his retirement in June of 2018. Since his retirement he has had much more opportunity to paint and has used this time to focus on developing an extensive body of work that focuses on reflecting his community and southern heritage.

When asked about the opportunity to present his work at the Nook gallery, Pugh says, “I've attended many special cultural events at the Koger Center since my arrival in Columbia. Although most of my visits have been for musical events, I've always been in awe of its modern architecture and the large-scale non-representational artwork in the atrium, which I assume is part of its permanent collection. Art in its various forms can uplift us and evoke our emotions. I am happy that the center has begun to have more opportunities for visual artists. I am particularly thrilled and honored to have my work in this space. Although the Nook is a small space, I've selected pieces that fit well with the expansiveness of the architecture and the artwork that is already present. The work selected also works well as a collective unit. Although the work I selected for the show is figurative, I think it will fit well in the space and relates to all humanity.”

It’s unsurprising to hear that Pugh is thinking of how this exhibition will work as a collective unit, as great meaning and value can be taken from how his pieces interact with each other in the work he has done thus far. This is demonstrated within specific series Pugh has created, such as his Mugshot Series, which depicts artistic renditions of the mugshots of various Civil Rights leaders, including Martin Luther King Jr., and Black Americans wrongfully convicted, including George Stinney, the youngest person to ever be sentenced with the death penalty and executed by the State– Stinney was just fourteen at the time and falsely charged with the murder of two white girls.

The subjects of these portraits feed off of each other, creating a dichotomous recognition of systemic violence and hopeful resistance of said violence. The inherent interconnection between this dichotomy is perhaps best represented through the portraits of Stinney and King, entitled The Exoneration of George Stinney, Jr. and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. respectively. Stinney’s portrait includes both a side mugshot and a forward facing mugshot, both of which depict the subject’s despondency in his posture and facial expression. In the former, Stinney wears a crown of thorns, evoking themes of crucifixion; in the latter, Stinney’s head is surrounded by a gold halo with orange cracks in certain places, signifying persecution. In King’s portrait, the subject is also depicted with a halo, deep blue with golden light radiating out from it, signifying hope for an impending deliverance.

This cohesion is also notable when looking at Pugh’s work as a whole: between his various depictions of protestors, veterans, advocates, and Southern Black Americans simply and joyously living their everyday lives, Pugh effectively portrays the complexity of the Southern Black experience and its spirit of strength and elation. His body of work captures a rich variety of lives and experiences as well as deep cultural ties, and how these themes work with each other.

With regards to his future artistic endeavors, Pugh says, “I think it's part of my mission to continue working in the same vein. I will continue to tell my story, our story, in all its complexity via art and maybe one day related text. Many of the pieces that I've done in the last five years have not been shown individually or collectively in an exhibition. I am ready and prepared, and hope to make that happen soon.”

Artists Showing Artists: A Night with Saul Seibert and Friends

Jasper is excited to introduce a new event series, Artists Showing Artists, where we invite a local artist to curate an evening of their favorite artists from different disciplines. Our hope is that the series will give fans a chance to get to know the featured artist better through seeing the local artists who inspire them, while also highlighting these lesser-known creators. Our first event will be March 23rd at The Living Room from 7–9pm, and we are featuring local musician and writer Saul Siebert as our curator. He has invited a selection of poet-songwriters, visual artists, and his band—King Saul and the Heretics—to perform.

Performers

Saul Seibert

Seibert is a performer, writer and composer from New Orleans, Louisiana. He is the former singer and songwriter for South Carolina's veteran punk rock band, Boo Hag. Seibert has contributed musical scores to various commercials as well as independent cult classic films such as, "Party Hardy" and last year's award-winning film, "Bad Girls". His most recent work can be heard in the popular mainstream film He's All That. In 2022, Seibert’s musical arrangements and compositions were adapted to the much-anticipated video game Bugs and Boo Hags. In 2023, Seibert released the instrumental concept album, Zion, A Composition Acts 1, 2, & 3. Currently Seibert resides in Columbia, SC, and is writing and recording a record set to release in 2023 under the name King Saul and The Heretics. He has been a contributing writer to Jasper Magazine and the popular blog Manifestation Station. Smoke weed. Live free. 

Alyssa Stewart

Steward is a Poet and Songwriter who has naturalized to Columbia over the past twenty-five years. On her art she says, “I’m so glad to serve whatever work comes to me—be it writing, singing, dancing, or any other form of creative expression, and grateful for the abundance of communities around town in which to share. I would be less myself without my friends and family.”

NoN (Keith Smyly)

The genre known as "alternative" Hip Hop is a meandering path that leads listeners in many different directions. Within it, there is such a vast array of so many styles that one would question whether or not the artists that make it up could be classified as a singular art form. The ties that bind these practitioners together is in its cerebral poeticism, its complete disregard for conventional subject matter and its use of typically untraditional soundscapes. NoN, Columbia based Hip Hop project, conceptualized in its entirety by musician/writer Keith Smyly, sits comfortably in this "genre." With the release of two EPs—"Elusive Positive Aspects” and “Random Acts”—along with a full-length release titled So Lame, NoN set out to be the tie that binds humanity together with his lyrics. His leave no one out approach saw him pen songs like "Hearse Surfer," which seamlessly connected topics like child mental health, a failing class system, organized religion, and death; to "Pride, Dice and Chips," which recognizes the burdens and difficulty of putting philosophical questions of self and honesty into art; to "Free Mustache Rides," an homage to a favorite sexual past time. With a new release entitled Picture Album in the works, NoN will keep it personal but not to the exclusion of listeners: "I make people music. I try to pull from very, very personal experiences with the idea that most folks go through similar things. Human emotion is human emotion. And, while positive aspects may be elusive, they do exist." NoN. It is an alternative…to whatever else it is you’re listening to. 

Visual Artists

Art will be on display and available to purchase from the following artists:

Kara Virginia Russo

Russo is an abstract mixed media and interdisciplinary artist, whose work deals with themes of mysticism and spiritual reality. After earning her BFA from Converse College in 2005, she lived in Asia and Europe before returning to settle in South Carolina with her husband and two children. Her work has been shown in solo and group exhibitions in Columbia, Greenville, and Charleston. 

Adam Corbett

Corbett is a multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter and visual artist from Lexington, South Carolina. After releasing numerous records, helping to produce a musical, and taking a break from his career as a music teacher, Corbett branched out into visual art as a way to cope with the COVID-19 lockdown. Throughout that period, he has experimented with various mediums in a variety of formats focusing always on exploration, play, and following his muse.

Emily Moffitt

Moffitt is a recent graduate of the University of South Carolina's School of Visual Art and Design. Growing up, she always found enjoyment through sketching and drawing her own original characters or art based on her favorite books and video games. Now as a young artist, she aims to blend the realms of fine art and illustration through her work, always experimenting with new techniques and materials to create new works. As she gets older, she continues to learn how events from a person's life can shape their art and style, for better or worse. Her favorite media to work with include ink pens, India ink, and gouache, and she values the power of mark making through these tools.

Tickets for the event are $12 in advance—and can be purchased online—and will be $15 at the door.
Refillable Jasper cups for beer and wine will be available for $10 as well as hotdogs and a selection of baked goods.
All proceeds go toward supporting the Jasper Project’s mission.

LAURIE MCINTOSH, GATHERINGS: MY WORLD IN LINOCUT at Stormwater Studios

Visual artist Laurie McIntosh will open a new showing of work called Gatherings: My World in Linocut at Stormwater Studios, 413 Pendleton Street, Columbia, SC, March 8 through March 18, 2023 from 11am -5pm each day. An artist reception will be held on Friday, March 10 from 5:00 – 8:00 pm. The exhibition is a collection of more than 30 images created using linocut reduction and multi-block processes.

Laurie McIntosh is an accomplished South Carolina artist and painter known for large bodies of thematic work inspired by her specific interests and life experiences. She is the owner of Laurie McIntosh Art in Camden, SC, a working studio she founded in 2016. She was previously a member of Vista Studios/Gallery 80808 in Columbia, SC.

Linocut reduction is a relief printing process in which the artist carves a reverse image in a block of linoleum. The image is inked in a single color and printed on paper. The artist then carves an additional layer, applies a different color, and prints again. The process is repeated until all color layers are applied. Because the process does not allow an artist to adjust a prior layer, the process is sometimes referred to as “suicide printing.”

“Gatherings is a result of navigating the isolation of the past three years and celebrating our coming out of it,” said McIntosh. “My family enjoyed being together during that time, spending time gathering crabs and fish, growing tomatoes, and doing the things outdoors that we love. It kept us busy.”

McIntosh notes her family’s most treasured times are sharing that bounty with dear friends, which is reflected in the collection. “Being able to gather with people again and enjoy homegrown and home-caught food, tell some tall tales, drink a cold beer, and have a laugh is what my family is all about. I hope that love of people and the land comes across in this body of work.”

Laurie McIntosh is a South Carolina native who earned a BA in Fine Art from the University of South Carolina. She went on to train at the Center for Creative Imaging, the Penland School of Crafts, and other prestigious studios. Previous noteworthy exhibitions include All the In-Between: My Story of Agnes, which served as the inspiration for an annotated art book authored by McIntosh in 2012; the South Carolina State Museum 30th Anniversary Juried Exhibition in 2019; and numerous juried and invitational, solo and group exhibitions throughout the state. In 2019, McIntosh was commissioned to create public art for the “Art Bus” for Comet Public Transportation in Columbia, SC. She exhibited a solo show, Beautiful Swimmers, in 2020 at Stormwater Studios in Columbia, SC.

For more information on artist Laurie McIntosh please visit lauriemcintoshart.com. To learn more about Stormwater Studios, see stormwaterstudios.org

From https://www.stormwaterstudios.org/event/laurie-mcintosh-3

Spring 2023 Cottontown Art Crawl is back!

Saturday March 11 10 am - 4 pm

FREE!

It’s one of the most exciting and—for artists—lucrative events of the season, and one of the best places to visit your favorite artists, as well as to find new favorites!

Cottontown Art Crawl (CAC) brings artists and entertainment to front porches and lawns in a historic downtown neighborhood. The fifth annual Crawl will welcome 140 artists to show and sell their original work.

Check out who you’ll find this year and where to find them below!

On 1200 Block of Anthony Avenue

• David Dohan, Drawing; Mixed Media; Painting

• Lori Ritter, Glass; Mixed Media

• Cait Maloney, Drawing; Mix of traditional and digital media

• Renee Frisbie, Photography

• Bonnie Geiger, Handwoven Baskets

• Debora Life, Ceramics; Mixed Media

• Tammy Brown

On 1200 Block of Confederate Avenue

• Addison Graham, Jewelry; Painting; Printmaking

• Anna Schumann, Jewelry; Printmaking

• Bohumila Augustinova, Ceramics

• Samantha Reali, Ceramics; Drawing; Jewelry; Mixed Media; Painting

On 1300 Block of Confederate Avenue

• Flavia Lovatelli, Mixed Media; Sculpture

• Nancy Strailey, Drawing

• Bruce Cotner

• Bryan Burgin, Glass

On 1400 Block of Confederate Avenue

• Lisa Alberghini, Mixed Media; Painting

• Noelle Brault

• Oliver Thompson

• Stacy Morgan, Ceramics

• Joanna Alford, Painting

• Kate Voigts

• Devon Corley, Mixed Media; Painting

• Tennyson Corley, Ceramics; Mixed Media; Sculpture

• Tobi Elbel, Photography

On 1200 Block of Franklin Street

• Holly Rauch, Painting

• Meena Khalili, Drawing

• Environmental Educators of SC

• Lisa Bone, Ceramics

On 1400 Block of Franklin Street

• Britty Pointer, Painting

• Kelly Shackelford, Textiles

On 1200 Block of Geiger Avenue

• Megan Cooper, Jewelry; Mixed Media; Painting

• Tawanda Sims

On 1300 Block of Geiger Avenue

• Jen Scott, Ceramics

• Leah Cherney, Mixed Media; Painting

On 1400 Block of Geiger Avenue

• Elaine Anderson, Painting

• Gail Stouffer, Jewelry

• Amy Kuenzie, Painting

• Jane Schwantes, Ceramics

• Abstract Alexandra, Textiles

• Caroline Clark, Ceramics; Jewelry; Sculpture; Woodworking

• Sara Scott, Ceramics

• September Campbell, Mixed Media; Painting; Photography

• Vanessa Gustafson, Painting

On 2100 Block of Marion Street

• Rick Keasler, Metalworking

• Addie Somers Walker, Vintage China Garden Flowers

• Christy Buchanan, Mixed Media; Painting

• Cindy Kilpatrick, Metalworking; Mixed Media; Photography

• Rebecca Lynne Horne, Mixed Media; Painting

On 2200 Block of Marion Street

• Lila McCullough, Painting

• Sandy Knowles, Ceramics

• Tracy Chatman, Body Butter

• Bobby Baker, Jewelry; Sculpture; Woodworking

• Shaina Manuel

On 2300 Block of Marion Street

• Alicia Leeke, Mixed Media; Painting; Photography; Textiles

• John Nelson, Drawing; Painting

• Susan Charette-Hood, Jewelry

• Carolyn Ellis, Ceramics; Painting

• Cathy Kline, Glass; Painting; Textiles

• Benji Hicks, Printmaking

• Caitlin Barnes, Mixed Media; Painting; Photography; Wall decor 

On 2400 Block of Marion Street

• Catie Martin, Ceramics

• Diane Gilbert

• Jemes Davis & Debbie Langley

• Pascale Bilgis, Mixed Media

• Barbara Teusink, Painting

• Stan Cummings

• Beth Clark

• Quincy Pugh, Painting; Photography

On 2200 Block of Sumter Street

• Adam Corbett, Drawing; Mixed Media; Painting

• Andre Griffin, Painting

• Betsy Gaskin-Lester, Textiles

• Charles Hite, Photography

• Jennifer Richards, Jewelry; Glass

• Jessica Lopez, Textiles

• Jessica Ream, Mixed Media; Painting; Bookmaker

• Michelle Kingsberry, Jewelry; Mixed Media; Painting

• Pamela Girard, Glass cloches and lanterns filled with insects and dried flowers

• Robert McNinch, Leather Goods

• Sharon Funderburk, Mixed Media

• Tim Whitten, Ceramics

• Gail Anastasio, Glass

• Margie Bach, Ceramics; Sculpture

• Shirley Long, Painting

• Sylvia Ady-Potts, Ceramics; Jewelry; Sculpture

• Beth Huus, Ceramics

• Chilly Waters, Ceramics; Sculpture

• Cicely Hill, Mixed Media

• Debbie Patwin, Sculpture

• Ishayda Smith-Hughes, Jewelry; Mixed Media; Painting

• Leisha Scott, Mixed Media; Painting; Resin Coasters 

• Ozon Theswua, Metalworking; Woodworking

• Sonya Brown, Textiles

• Wilma King, Painting

On 2300 Block of Sumter Street

• Ashlan Bishop

• Ginny Merett, Mixed Media

• Sammy Griswold, Jewelry

• Stacey Black, Painting

On 2400 Block of Sumter Street

• Lillian Hauck, Mixed Media; Painting

• Amanda Oswalt, Painting

• Brian Murrell, Painting

On 1200 Block of Summerville Avenue

• Mary Cauthon, Textiles

• Michael Naughton, Painting

• Swirly Girl Arts (Kim Carpenter and Pat Gillam), Mixed Media; Painting

On 1300 Block of Summerville Avenue

• Jennifer Elmore, Textiles

• Karen Petta, Painting

• Angela Hughes Zokan, Mixed Media; Painting; Printmaking

• Whitney McCormac, Mixed Media; Painting; Textiles

On 1400 Block of Summerville Avenue

• Colin Stader, Glass

• JJ Burton, Painting; Plants

On 1400 Block of Victoria Street

• Brandon Manaa, Ceramics; Mixed Media; Painting; Sculpture

• Lucas Sams, Ceramics; Drawing; Mixed Media; Painting; Sculpture

On 2100 Block of Wallace Street

• Jordan Harsey, Drawing; Jewelry; Mixed Media; Painting; Sculpture; Wearables

• Lissa Evans

• Alex Ruskell, Painting

• Melissa Smith, Mixed Media

On 2200 Block of Wallace Street

• Candace Catoe, Jewelry

• JP Lester, Woodworking

• Sabine Compeyn, Fiber

• Jeff Tempest, Mystical, magical and mundane

• Susanne Sievers, Ceramics

• Tiffany Walker, Jewelry; Mixed Media; Painting

• Apryl Campbell

• Noah Van Sciver

• Lily Todd, Ceramics; Drawing; Jewelry; Painting; Flower Arrangements, Candle Holders

• Clay Burnette, Jewelry; Wearables; Basketry - Pine Needle Baskets

• Hearts, Arts, & Paws, Ceramics; Glass; Woodworking

• Paul Moore

Colleen Critcher and the T.Rex as Consumer and Consumed

Colleen Critcher is a Florence, South Carolina based artist who finds inspiration in consumerism, Tyrannosaurus Rex, and all things kitschy and gauche. She describes herself as a “painter at heart,” her favorite being oil painting, though she’s worked with a variety of mediums. She also finds herself turning to printmaking often, a process that matches much of her work thematically in the way that it, according to Critcher, “mimics the industrial production model in a completely inefficient way.” 

Critcher has known she wanted to be an artist since she “learned that it could be a profession” in Kindergarten. She’s always felt called toward it, and always found herself admirably aware of its capabilities. “I’m also addicted to the basic alchemy aspect of art making,” she says. “Making something from nothing feels like magic to me.” 

And make something from nothing she does, over and over again. Critcher’s recent series, entitled Consumed, is a scathing commentary on the American consumerist obsession with excess and features a series of pieces in which the subjects literally consume multicolored plastic dinosaurs.

“I love the fact that decades after I collected them, the T.Rex remains a pop culture icon,” Critcher says. “People are still obsessed with this dinosaur who was once the “ultimate consumer. It’s a bizarre cultural phenomenon.”  

“Beyond the connection from childhood toys and popular culture, I’m also interested in the fact that Rex was once the apex predator. It’s a reminder that humans pretend their dominance is somehow guaranteed to be permanent. There is also a sad irony to the fact that the remnants of dinosaurs (as petroleum) are what we make plastic with, and plastic is slowly killing everything. Yikes.” 

There is something to be said for the deadly consumerist infatuation with plastic, especially considering Critcher’s idea that our induction into consumerism starts with childhood– “I think for most of us it starts with toys.” 

Relatedly, Consumed also includes several pieces with children as the subjects. What A Good Little Consumer and Pretty Please both feature the full body images of children, a girl and a boy respectively, with T.Rex masks on their heads, dressed in what appears to be play costumes. Something about the way the children stand, the way the little girl in What A Good Little Consumer cradles the T.Rex toy in her arms, feels eerie, more sinister perhaps. Is there something to be said here about consumerism eating us back? 

Critcher answers this question with more questions: “I’ve been making work about American consumer culture for a decade now and I’m constantly asking questions about our participation. Are we passively implicated in the process? Are we fully engaged with both feet in this complex system? Are we consuming the things or are they consuming us? What are the benefits and what are the negative effects of a culture built on the necessity to constantly buy more things? When I had children it made me recognize that they, we, become consumers almost immediately.” 

Another unique facet of Critcher’s work is its ability to be self-referential–she puts the literal image of herself into her paintings. Within Consumed, she can be seen chowing down on a purple dinosaur in Devouring Her T. Rex and a neon green one in Keeping Up With The Joneses (Suburban Mom). Perhaps this is a nod to her own participation in consumer culture, a reminder of its inescapable impact on all of our lives. It certainly adds to the uncanny aesthetic of the series.  

Critcher received her MFA in painting from the Savannah College of Art and Design. Since then, her work has been shown at numerous galleries, including The Southern, Redux Contemporary Art Center, Kai Lin Art, Gutstein Gallery, and 701 Center for Contemporary Art, and she has taught several arts foundations courses at Coker University, Coastal Carolina University, and Francis Marion University.  

Critcher is the featured artist in the Jasper Project’s First Thursday Series at Sound Bites Eatery at 1425 Sumter Street. Join us on Thursday, March 2nd as we celebrate the opening reception for her work which will hang throughout the month of March.

For more information about Critcher and her projects, and to check out her delightfully bizarre series Consumed, visit her website, colleencritcher.com.

CALL FOR ARTS at Richland Library

Richland Library is seeking submissions for our Spring Pop Up Art Shows. The exhibition series will be held March through May 2023.

Pop-up Art Shows are intended to highlight the work of local BIPOC, LBGTQ+ or otherwise underserved artists and their unique personal ties to the specific communities where the libraries are located. They are looking for work that speaks to the community's roots, culture and citizenry.

Up to 2 artists will be selected to exhibit on each of the following dates: 

• Saturday, March 11 from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. at Richland Library Wheatley

• Thursday, April 6 from 6 - 9 p.m. at Boyd Plaza *This will be a Special Exhibition in partnership with the First Thursday on Main event.

• Saturday, May 20 from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. at Richland Library Blythewood

The application deadlines are Wednesday, March 1 to exhibit at Richland Library Wheatley, First Thursday on Main and Saturday, April 15 to exhibit at Richland Library Blythewood.

If you're interested in sharing your work samples, please review the submission guidelines and complete the application by clicking here.

Conceived and co-organized by local visual artist Jeff Rivers, this project seeks to expand the social and economic participation of underserved artists and communities.

Learn more about Jeff by clicking here.

For questions, please contact Kimberlei Davis at 803-351-5616 or kdavis@richlandlibrary.com.

Jasper Welcomes Lori Starns Isom to the Gallery at Harbison Theatre Friday Night

Lori Isom - who also is an exceptional baker!

In the Jasper Project’s ongoing efforts to locate and make use of blank walls in the Midlands area as gallery spaces to exhibit local artists’ work, we are pleased to open another exhibit in the gallery space at Midlands Technical College’s Harbison Theatre. Lori Isom is an artist well known to the Jasper Project, having contributed a place-setting to the Supper Table in 2019 and having been featured in the 10th anniversary issue of Jasper Magazine. We are delighted to facilitate showing her work this month at Harbison Theatre.

We will celebrate Isom’s exhibit with a reception on Friday, February 24th with a reception at 6:30 prior to the concert by Patrick Davis and his Midnight Choir, and Isom will speak briefly at 7 pm. The artist’s work will be available for purchase and will remain on exhibit throughout the month of March.

It is fair to say that Lori Isom’s life as an artist, and all around creative, has been quite varied. Throughout her young life, while receiving a formal education, she also studied dance and acting in New York. She was fortunate to enjoy some success as a professional dancer, singer and actress in New York and Los Angeles. Over the last several years, she's had many interesting and fun entrepreneurial pursuits, including owning and operating her own baking business! While she is predominantly a self-taught artist, Lori majored in fashion illustration in high school, and later fine art and fashion design at Parsons School of Design.

Lori's love of portraiture and figurative art began early. She was captivated by the work of artists like Mary Cassatt, Norman Rockwell, Andrew Wyeth, and John Singer Sargent because of their ability to capture emotion. Later in life, she found inspiration in artists like Mary Whyte, Dean Mitchell, Daniel Greene, Amy Sherald, and so many others. 

Through the years, Lori has done hundreds of individual and family portraits, as well as portraits of military personnel and heads of companies. She has also shared her passion and knowledge of by art coaxing the inner artist out of young children to senior citizens, through teaching. 

Lori's work has been featured in the pages of American Art Collector, newspaper articles and a variety of other publications. Her career has included solo and group exhibitions, and a one year residency for the City of North Charleston, during which she had the privilege to work on several community-focused projects. These included outdoor murals and special art projects, as well as workshops and demonstrations in the city's schools and community centers. 

At this point in her career, Lori is focused on reaching her most authentic artistic expression through deep personal exploration. She is driven to find her highest level of creativity by being open to trying new techniques and, most of all, trusting herself. 

"Since I have theater experience in my background, I relate to my subject(s) like actors on a stage. Telling a story and capturing emotion are what I aspire to do every time I go to the canvas. While working on a piece, I am thinking about how I can best reveal the person's story to my “audience” in this brief moment in their life. 

My deep desire as an artist is to present my subject in the most honest and sincere way.

Like any artist, I want the viewer to be moved in some way by the painting, and just see a pretty picture. I am stimulated by interesting composition, structure and use of color, however the emotion is really what drives me. "

Jasper is indebted to Kristin Cobb and the gracious folks at MTC’s Harbison Theatre for their hospitality and their willingness to work with us on our mission of making the work of Midlands’ area visual artists more accessible to the public and a more vital part of the culture they help create.

If you have an idea for a space that the Jasper Project might be able to capture as a potential gallery, contact JasperProjectColumbia@gmail.com.

Where Photographer and Subject Become Artist Together: A Preview of Gerry Melendez’s Whole

“There’s power in photography.” - Gerry Melendez

In the coming weeks, Stormwater Studios will host Whole, a photography exhibition by award winning photographer Gerry Melendez. There will be an Opening Reception this coming Saturday, February 25th from 6–9 p.m., and a closing reception on Sunday, March 5th from 12–3 p.m. 

Melendez is a Salvadorian photographer and filmmaker with over thirty years of photojournalist experience under his belt. He has won numerous awards and accolades over the span of his career, including the honor of Photographer84 of the Year twice by the South Carolina Press Association and six times by the South Carolina New Photographers Association. Recently, he was awarded a Southeastern Emmy for his short documentary entitled Donna’s Story (2022). 

This exhibit is a stunning collection of black and white photography—stripped down portraits with a focus on the individual subject. With regard to his artistic vision, Melendez says, “The premise of the exhibition is really to bring everyone down to the same level in a technical way.”  

He establishes this base level through not just the choice to shoot in black and white, but through the simplicity of the background of the photographs, the lighting, and the literal “stripping down” of his subjects. In essence, Melendez wants to limit our ability as viewers to make assumptions about the subjects as much as possible, saying, “Here, all you get is this one black and white moment in time. That and bare skin.”

Interestingly, Melendez believes his subjects to be very much a part of the artistic process, almost as if they are artists themselves. “The magic or uniqueness is what each subject brings to the table during their shoot,” he says. “Their personality and pose. The energy they show. What they're feeling at that moment. How they want to be perceived. I try not to direct too much and just allow this to happen organically.”  

He gives his subjects freedom of expression, facial or otherwise. He believes in the power of their stories, and the ability of his camera, in collaboration with his subjects, to capture it effectively and provocatively. 

One of these stories is that of Mary, a woman who was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma at 28 years old and had to have a tumor surgically removed from her chest. 

“It took a few years to be a proud member of the ‘zipper club,’” Mary says, “but the scar from the removal of that tumor is part of my story, my fight to be here, and it reminds me each day how strong I am and that it’s just one part of who I am.” 

As for Melendez’s general artistic attitude, he describes his driving force as such: “I want to create art that makes you feel something. Hopefully, it leaves you feeling good. Maybe it inspires you. Maybe it moves you to tears. Maybe it forces you to act. Whatever it does, I have this gift and I want to use it in the best way possible and hopefully leave this world in a better place. You know, Nick Ut's photo of the napalm girl helped end the Vietnam war. There's power in photography.” 

More information about Whole can be found on the Stormwater website.

Annual Winter Exhibition Featuring Chesley, Yaghjian, Williams and Friends - February 15-March 23

One of the most exciting visual art shows of the year opened on Thursday February 16th at the new Mike Williams art studio in Columbia’s historic Vista and will continue until March 23 with a reception on Saturday, February 25th from 2-5.

Anyone who follows local art closely has come to anticipate the yearly group show that always features Stephen Chesley, David Yaghjian, Mike Williams, usually includes Edward Wimberly, and as of late, has often included Ellen Emerson Yaghjian and Guy Allison. This year, the gang is all present at 1221 Lincoln Street for an extended period.

With the loss of the late Wim Roefs, Mike Williams and Michaela Pilar Brown, former ED of 701 CCA, divided Wim’s renown If Art gallery into two distinctive studio/galleries. For the past few months, with spaces have been quietly building their presence with Michaela Pilar Brown’s Mike Brown Contemporary Art opening the upstairs  of her multi-level space to a number of community-oriented events and gatherings of artists.

The Mike Williams Gallery operates similarly. While the Williams/Chesley/Yaghjian gang typically offers their annual group exhibition at Stormwater Studios, after having staged the exhibit for years at the former gallery collection know as 80808 on Lady Street, this year Williams is moving the group show to his new home on Lincoln Street.

About the Artists:

Columbia, S.C., native and resident David Yaghjian has exhibited across the Carolinas, including Blue Spiral I Gallery in Asheville, N.C., the Florence (S.C.) Museum of Art, Gallery 80808 and Morris Gallery in Columbia and Hampton III Gallery in Greenville, S.C. In Atlanta, where he used to live, Yaghjian has shown in the Spruill Center Gallery, the Right Brain Gallery, and other venues. He also painted two murals in the Georgia capital. Yaghjian holds a BA from Massachusetts’ Amherst College and studied in New York City at the Art Students League and the School of Visual Art. Among his instructors were Fairfield Porter, Leonard Baskin, Will Barnett and Chaim Koppelman.

David Yaghjian

Stephen Chesley was born in Schenectady New York in 1952. He exhibited a natural proclivity for drawing and art almost as soon as he could hold pastel and pencil which were often Christmas gifts from his family. Growing up in Virginia Beach in the late 1950’s he was exposed to the ‘Beat Generation’ of musicians, artist, and writers when Virginia Beach was still a seasonal seaside resort. Self-motivated, he continued with his drawing and small paintings along with exposure to local artist. Throughout elementary and high school the art spirit continued. Collegiate exposure led to a meld of art and science with degrees in Urban Studies and a Master’s Degree in Urban Planning in 1980 from the school of Architecture at Clemson University. Graduating in a deep national economic recession Chesley turned back to his art. Spending 5 years on rivers and sea islands to explore his aesthetic, subject matter, influential painters, and styles, Chesley’s paintings and art work began to move to the fore.

Recognized in 1981 by the Columbia Museum of Art as an emerging talent he went on to win top 100 in the first National Parks competition of 1987,exhibiting at the Smithsonian, and in 1996 a National Endowment for the Arts, Southeast Regional Fellowship, Southeast Center for Contemporary Art. Chesley has continued his work, characterized as poetic realism, along with welded and carved sculptural pieces in addition to joint works illustrating Archibald Rutledge short stories and WS Merwin’s poem, “Palm” for the Thomas Cooper Society’s Thomas Cooper Medal for WS Merwin in 2012. Stephen Chesley continues his creative journey with an art spirit in Columbia, South Carolina.

Stephen Chesley

Mike Williams, born 1963 in Sumter, South Carolina, received his BFA from the University of South Carolina in 1990.  In 1988 he began his professional career as a fine artist and sign painter while finishing his degree.  He has been prolific throughout the past three decades creating more than 4000 works.  

He’s maintained a steady presence in galleries and has had his work exhibited in the South Carolina State Museum, the Columbia Museum of Art, the Lake County Museum, Chicago, Ill., the Carillon Building in Charlotte, NC, the Sun Trust Plaza in Atlanta, GA, and the Volksbank in Kaiserslautern, Germany.

Jasper Welcomes Lindsay Radford to the Hallway Gallery at Koger Center for the Arts for First Thursday this Week

The Jasper Project is excited to welcome our second Third Thursday artist to our Hallway Gallery at the Koger Center for the Arts. Lindsay Radford was born and raised in Alabama where she attended the Booker T. Washington Magnet Art School, Wiggins says that the experience helped shape her as a young artist. Now living in Columbia, SC, where she completed her BA in Studio Art at Columbia College, Radford says, “Art, for me, is a therapeutic way of moving what is inside me into a physical form. My hope is that my work uplifts, inspires, and empowers others to seek their own voice.”

Radford’s art will be available to view anytime the Koger Center is open and will remain on display through March 15th. The reception for this opening will run from 4 - 6 pm on the second floor of the Center just outside of the Donor Gallery.

Join us on the third Thursday of March for a new show by artist Quincy Pugh.

Announcing the Jasper Project Lineup for our First Thursday Sound Bites Gallery and our Third Thursday Koger Center Gallery

Lucas Sams ~ Colleen Crichter ~ Charles Hite ~ Cait Maloney ~ Steven White ~ David Dohan ~ Jean Lomasto ~ Amy Kuenzie ~ Lila McCullough ~ Barbie Mathis ~ Thomas Crouch ~ Lindsay Radford ~ Quincy Pugh ~ Cedric Umoja ~ Lauren Chapman

Artist - Colleen Crichter - March 2023

Jasper is excited to announce the lineup for 2023’s featured artists at our First Thursday Sound Bites Eatery Gallery as well as at our newly inaugurated Jasper Gallery Space at Koger Center for the Arts.

Check back in as their shows approach for more information about the featured artists but, for now, please mark your calendars for the First and Third Thursdays of each month to welcome the following artists and possibly to welcome some of their art to your home.

 Jasper’s First Thursday Gallery at Sound Bites Eatery

February – Lucas Sams

Join us Thursday February 2nd to welcome Lucas Sams as a first time First Thursday Artist

March – Colleen Crichter

Opening March 3rd

April – Charles Hite

Opening April 6th

May – Cait Maloney

Opening May 4th

June – Steven White

Opening June 1st

July – David Dohan

Opening July 6th

August – Jean Lomasto

Opening August 3rd

September – Amy Kuenzie

Opening September 7th

October – Lila McCullough

Opening October 5th

November – Barbie Mathis

Opening November 2nd

December -  Holiday Art Show TBA

 

Jasper’s Third Thursday Gallery Space at the Koger Center

January – Thomas Crouch

Crouch’s work will be on view through January

February – Lindsay Radford

Opening February 16th

March – Quincy Pugh

Opening March 16th

— April – Koger curated —

May – Cedric Umoja

Opening May 18th

June – Lauren Chapman

Opening June 15th

Lauren Chapman - Koger Center, June 2023

Cait Maloney - Sound Bites Eatery, May 2023

Lucas Sams is the Featured First Thursday Artist at Sound Bites for February 2023

Jasper welcomes Columbia-based artist Lucas Sams to our First Thursday Home Away from Home, Sound Bites Eatery, this Thursday, February 2nd starting at 6 pm.

Sams is a multi-media artist living and working in Columbia, SC; an alumnus of the SC Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities, the University of South Carolina and Temple University, Tokyo, working in painting, sculpture, film, digital/multimedia, sound, and installation art, with works exhibited in major art festivals, galleries and alternative spaces. Sams has been featured in Jasper Magazine, the SC State Newspaper, Garnet and Black Magazine, and the Timber Journal of the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Sams says of the upcoming show, “Nothing has been more fun in recent memory than painting like I did before Art School. This organized mess is a collection of drips and splashes, recorded action, crystallized snapshots of steps in undefined processes. Imagery ranges from the completely non-objective to portraits from the Artist’s Unconscious, both the intimate and the unfamiliar. 

Jasper Presents a Two-Part Valentine's Day Event -- An Evening with Bernie Love A Tribute to Elvis AND Love Hurts/Love Heals - New Art from Wilma King and K. Wayne Thornley

Jasper Presents a Two-Part Valentine’s Day Celebration:

Love Hurts/Love Heals featuring the art of Wilma King and K. Wayne Thornley followed by An Evening with Bernie Love—A Tribute to Elvis, both at 701 Whaley

Worried about taking that special someone to yet another crowded and overpriced boring Valentine’s Day dinner? Put your fears aside as The Jasper Project has your Valentine’s Day festivities figured out!

Join us on Tuesday February 14th at 701 Whaley for a two-part arts party.

Part One – from 5 – 7 pm in the 701 Community Hall Gallery we welcome esteemed Columbia-based artists Wilma King and K. Wayne Thornley for their interpretations of the phenomenon of Love Hurts/ Love Heals. Both artists’ works will line the halls for your interpretive pleasure, and you and your date are invited to enjoy wine and light snacks as you view the work.

Part Two – from 7 – 10 pm and following the Love Hurts/Love Heals exhibit, wander just a few feet over to the 701 Whaley Market Space where a night of Vegas-style entertainment awaits you both at An Evening with Bernie Love – A Tribute to Elvis. Featuring Patrick Baxley in the title role accompanied by Marty Fort, Jay Matheson, and Kevin Brewer, this tribute will focus on some of the King’s most romantic musical numbers performed in a classic Vegas cocktail party type setting.

Food will be provided by Chef Joe Turkaly and champagne and beer will be available for purchase.

Did you wait too late to shop for a special little something special for your beloved? No worries! Columbia artists Cait Maloney, Lindsay Radford, and Gina Langston Brewer will be on hand with a selection of their original romantic art gifts, and portrait artist Jamie Peterson will be commissioning small portraits of you and your sweetie based on photos you have taken at the event.

Doors for Bernie Love open at 7 pm with the main event kicking off at 8:30 pm when the King arrives in true Vegas style. Tickets to An Evening with Bernie Love are $20 and are available in advance at www.Jasper.org or by clicking here. A limited number of tables are available for $500.

Love Hurts/Love Heals is a free drop-in event. .

Girls Speak: Decriminalizing Youth with Art and Digital Media Making Opening at Stormwater Studios January 18th

Girls Speak features art and other digital creative media made by adolescent girls at Lexington County Juvenile Arbitration Center. This exhibition challenges what it means to be a “criminal offender,” as well as sheds light upon the experiences of adolescent criminality. There is a motif of joy and resiliency, and not losing hope, which pervades the artwork shown in Girls Speak.

This exhibition is coordinated by the UofSC Diversity and Inclusion Pilot Grant and the Women’s Well-Being Initiative, a part of the Women’s and Gender Studies Program. 

The opening reception will be January 19th from 5:30 to 6:30, and will be followed by a public forum from 6:30 to 8:00. However, the exhibition can be viewed from January 18th at 11:00 am to January 22nd at 3:00 pm. Stormwater Studios is located at 413 Pendleton Street.

All artist’s identities have been concealed for protection.