[Scmusenet] 30th Annual Juried South Carolina Artists Exhibition to open April 18 at the Pickens County Museum

[Allen Coleman]

THIRTIETH ANNUAL JURIED SOUTH CAROLINA ARTIST'S EXHIBITION


Exhibition celebrating some of the state's finest artisans to open April
18 at the Pickens County Museum 


 

   The Pickens County Cultural Commission is pleased to announce that
the "Pickens County Museum's Thirtieth Annual Juried Artist's
Exhibition" will open to the public with reception and awards ceremony
on Saturday April 18, from 5 until 8 p.m., and will continue through
June 11, 2009.

 

   Jay Williams, the Gary R. Libby Curator of Art at the Museum of Arts
and Sciences in Daytona Beach, FL will serve as juror for this year's
competition. He received his B.A. in Art Education and Printmaking in
1971 and his M.A. in Art Education in 1974 from the University of South
Florida in Tampa. In 1994 he received an additional M.A. in Art History
from Vermont's Norwich University.


 


   Born 1949 in Richmond, Kentucky and now living in Palm Coast,
Florida, Williams has held numerous prestigious positions including
Curator at the Morris Museum of Art in Augusta, Georgia; Chief Curator
of Exhibitions and Public Programs at the McKissick Museum at the
University of South Carolina; Curator for Edison College's Gallery of
Fine Art in Fort Myers, Florida and Head of Education and State Services
at the Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, Florida.


 


   During his career Williams has curated a plethora of fine exhibitions
including "The Songs of Maybelle Stamper," "Myth, Memory and
Imagination, Universal Themes in the Life and Culture of the South,"
"Realist Paintings by Bryan Leboeuf" and "Tom Nakashima: Two Decades."


 


   Williams spent the day of April 6 looking at, and contemplating 421
works of art representing 223 South Carolina artisans. The vast array of
paintings, drawings, photographs, prints, ceramics, fiber and other
mediums made for the difficult task of selecting works for, and
eliminating works from, the final show. The impressive final selection
of 130 works of art represents 124 individuals currently creating visual
art in this state. 

 

   About the jury, Mr. Williams said, "This Thirtieth Annual Juried
South Carolina Artists Exhibition represents an important aspect of
Pickens County Museum of Art and History's objective, to 'tell the
stories of Pickens County and the Carolina Upcountry.' Like our earliest
ancestors who expressed themselves in the visual arts, South Carolina's
artists still express their most important values through their chosen
media. Our artists think deeply about the world and their place in it."
He continued, "...the artist in society has not changed much during the
thousands of years of human history, since the earliest known artists
represented the relationship between human culture and the natural world
in their depictions found on the surfaces of caves and rock
outcroppings. Their works of craft also quickly transcended the realm of
pure functionality and became expressive." 

 

   To summarize his role in this endeavor, Williams said, "To see and
appreciate the Thirtieth Annual Juried SC Artists Exhibition is not just
a matter of enjoying its entertainment value. It may be enjoyable, but
it is much more than that. These artists have poured their hearts and
souls into their works of art. As I juried the exhibition, I was
overwhelmed by their collective curiosity and creativity, their
psychological, philosophical, and in some cases, religious
understanding, and their ability to synthesize a complex variety of
thoughts and feelings into a painting, photograph, drawing, print,
basket, or piece of furniture."

 

   Thanks to the kind sponsorships of Pickens County & the Pickens
County Cultural Commission along with the museum's 2008-2009 exhibition
season sponsors, Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative, Pickens Savings & Loan
and Upstate Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery & Dental Implant Center,
Cornerstone Bank, First Citizens Bank, ING Financial Partners-Sam Head,
Liberty Family Pharmacy, Richard & Laura Powers, Pumpkintown Community
Club, Mr. & Mrs. Alfred Robinson & Family and the Rozelle Stone Company
and the additional sponsorships from Mr. & Mrs. J. Connie Bowers, Mr. &
Mrs. Philip Hendricks and Mrs. Shirley Sarlin, cash and purchase awards
will be presented at the April 18 Opening Reception. The Pickens County
Museum of Art & History is funded in part by Pickens County, friends and
members of the museum and a grant from the South Carolina Arts
Commission, which receives support from the National Endowment for the
Arts.

            

   No matter where your individual taste in art may lead, you will find
satisfaction in this exhibition. The variety of work represented is a
generous reflection of the community of artists presently at work in
South Carolina.

             

   Located at the corner of Hwy. 178 at 307 Johnson Street in Pickens
SC, the museum is open Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9:00 a.m.
until 5:00 p.m., Thursdays from 9:00 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. and Saturdays
from 9:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Admission is free but donations are
welcomed. For more information call the museum at (864) 898-5963.

 

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