Sunday, December 19, 2010

First Show of the New Year!






Opening Reception – Friday, January 7, 6 pm to 9 pm
Gallery Hours – Saturday, January 8 – 11 am to 3 pm
                                 - Sunday, January 9 – 11 am – 2 pm

Two well established SC artists team up to present an eclectic show and sale of their most recent work at Vista Studios/Gallery 80808.  Paths of Least Resistance – Works by Jeri Burdick and Clay Burnette opens with a reception on January 7 from 6 – 9 PM.  

Those who have followed the creative paths of Jeri Burdick and Clay Burnette for the past 35 years expect to see Burdick’s ceramic pieces and Burnette’s pine needle baskets.  However, through the years, both artists have taken other paths of least resistance that some may not be aware of.  In addition to her ceramic plates and bowls, Burdick will be showing hand-pieced quilts, paintings, lamps, tables and mixed media wall pieces.  Along with baskets coiled from longleaf pine needles, Burnette will present handwoven scarves and beaded necklaces.

To the artists, Paths of Least Resistance refers to the flow of energy that drives them to create on a daily basis.  It is the creative act that is performed with no struggle - relying solely on the natural flow of ideas, with no pressure accepted or expended.  The paths lead them to their studios, where the desire to create is pacified for the moment while other time consuming demands of the day are set aside.  A path of least resistance is described as effortlessly riding a horse in the direction it is already going.

Both artists have developed a strong common bond through their many years of friendship.  They both were born in 1951 and have both received the SC Arts Commission Fellowship in Crafts – Burdick in 1986 and Burnette in 1988.  Their works are included in the permanent collections of the SC State Museum, the Columbia Museum of Art, and the SC State Art Collection, as well as many private and corporate collections.  They are founding members of Cats on a Leash, a 7-member contemporary arts group formed in Columbia in 1985.  Both artists have been exhibiting members of the SC Crafts Association, Piedmont Craftsmen, the American Crafts Council, and the prestigious Philadelphia Craft Show.   And both artists were included in 100 Years/100 Artists: Views of the 20th Century in SC Art, a major exhibition at the SC State Museum in 2000.

Jeri Burdick is a professional visual artist from Eutawville who has established a strong base of support in all regions of the state and has had gallery representation throughout the US and Canada over the course of her career.  After obtaining a BFA from the University of Georgia and a MA from Furman University, she taught in the Greenville Co Public Schools until becoming a full-time artist in 1982.  Along with her partner, Kitty Parrott, she established Radcliffe Street, Inc., which continues to offer services in residential, commercial and education applications as well as finished original art in a variety of media.  In 1988 she had her first series of drawings for “The Fisherman’s Tale” selected for international publication by Green Tiger Press, with a subsequent book “The Sailor Cats” published by Simon & Shuster in 1993.  She has participated in numerous group and juried exhibitions, created mural installations through the SC Artist in Residence school program and designed/installed residential and commercial mosaic compositions; all while continuing to provide unique pieces for individual and corporate clients.

Clay Burnette has exhibited his work throughout the US and Great Britain.  He received AS, BAIS and MLIS degrees from the University of SC and is employed as Director of Grants and Fellowships at the SC Arts Commission.   His pine needle baskets have been exhibited in over 200 events, including the Smithsonian Craft Show, SOFA (Sculpture, Objects and Functional Art) New York, SOFA Chicago, ACC Atlanta and ACC Charlotte Craft Shows.  In 2000, his work was selected for inclusion in Contemporary International Basketry, an exhibit that toured the United Kingdom for two years.  His works have been included in numerous printed publications including Contemporary International Basketmaking; Baskets: Tradition and Beyond; 500 Baskets; Baskets: A Book for Makers and Collectors; Beautiful Things; and Craft in America.  His work is currently touring nationally in Tradition/Innovation: American Masterpieces of Southern Craft & Traditional Art, presented by SouthArts, Atlanta, GA.

The opening reception for Paths of Least Resistance will be held at Vista Studios/Gallery 80808, 808 Lady Street, Columbia on Friday, January 7, from 6-9 PM.  The gallery will also be open on Saturday, January 8, from 11 – 3 and Sunday, January 9, from 11 – 2.  


For additional information, contact Clay Burnette at claysc@earthlink.net or call 803-553-6173.


Saturday, December 11, 2010

Vista Studios in Times Square!

Well would you look at this?!  Our recent collaboration with Marriott / Springhill Suites was picked up by PRNews wire and they put it on their jumbotron in Times Square!  Laura Spong's painting looks great!

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Rob Shaw to Exhibit at Gallery 80808








ROB SHAW ART SHOW AT 80808 GALLERY


Local artist Rob Shaw is having an art show from December 16 to December 21, 2010 at 80808 Gallery. The opening reception will be on Thursday, December 16th, 2010 from 5-9pm.

A native of Columbia and a graduate of USC in art studio, Rob Shaw has had numerous shows in local venues and is the featured artist at Havens Framemakers and Gallery on Gervais Stree . Principally working in oil, Shaw’s paintings include low-country themes as well as Columbia landmarks.  The show is somewhat of a retrospective spanning the last six years with the majority of the work having been created in 2010.  The retrospective will consist of forty to fifty images ranging from small to large.

Shaw’s Paintings from this year are signed “twenty ten” which has come to symbolize a dramatic shift in his work.  These recent paintings take into consideration the way life has become so deconstructed; and with his work, Shaw tries to connect it together again.  By leveling out the painting surface, he is able to connect elements of the painting that were otherwise separate. Colors blend and become symbiotic of each other.  This organic feel has a soothing, harmonious look.  Sometimes powerful and other times tranquil, they all give off a sense of peace and simplicity.

In an effort to set himself apart, Shaw abandoned brushes years ago.  Now all he uses is a single palette knife.  Shaw has a very painterly technique. He uses the paint and plays with the different ways it can be applied and manipulated.  When asked about his work, he is often aloof, avoiding any direct answers.  He feels that the painting is the statement and any translation to the viewer would only distort the intent.  The paintings are meant to be paintings and nothing more, they are meant to be beautiful expressions of things we see every day.

Rob Shaw was the winner of the Best in Show Professional Division at the SC State Fair in 2008.  He received First Honorable Mention in the 2006 NBSC Oil Painters Invitational. His paintings are in many private collections in the US and Europe.  His corporate collectors include First Citizens Bank and The Cultural Council of Richland and Lexington Counties.

For more information on Shaw’s art, please visit his website:  www.robshawartist.com.  





ROB SHAW
Oil Landscape Artist
803-665-2440
High resolution images available upon request.

Friday, December 3, 2010

The Half and Half Exhibit Recent Work at Gallery 80808






The Half and Half, a design and print studio in Columbia, SC are pleased to host an event of recent work.  December 9-14

Widely known for their concert and event posters, The Half and Half marry a contemporary design aesthetic with classical printing techniques. Past work can be seen on a lot of walls, in a lot of dorms and arrested living rooms, throughout the country. Clients include CBS Records, Subpop Records and Dave Matthews Band. They have also had the pleasure of working with the Columbia Museum of Art and The Indie Grits Film Festival, here in the capital city.
The doors of Gallery 80808 in the Vista will open at 7 PM Thursday, December 9th for a viewing and artists’ reception. On display this evening will be previously unseen work designed by The Half and Half and printed using silkscreen and letter press at their College Street studio. The work will remain on the walls and open to visitors through the following Tuesday.
About The Half and Half
The Half and Half founders, Sara Thomas and Nick Wilson attended The University of South Carolina, graduating from the graphic design program in 2007. The studio opened above Sid & Nancy, in Five Points, later that year. The demands of continuous success and the menacings of a kung fu dojo took their toll, however, and the Half and Half expanded in 2009. They moved to their current, roomier space in April of that year and were joined by fellow USC graduate, Thomas Jennings, in August. They work together and live separately, at this moment, as we speak all over the metro.
Contact
ph: (803)666-8030

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Vista Studios and Marriott's Springhill Suites in USA TODAY





Dec 1 2010 8:32AM from USATODAY.com

Marriott's Springhill Suites chain wants hotels to double as art galleries

By Barbara De Lollis, USA TODAY

Courtesy SpringHill Suites
Marriott's SpringHill Suites chain today will launch "ArtNight," an arts initiative designed to give local artists visibility in hotels while exposing guests to the local arts scene.
Boutique hotels have cultivated an artsy reputation for years. But this initiative - to be launched in just two hotels - is another sign that big chains are willing to try something new to generate an artsy buzz and fight cookie-cutter perceptions.
Increasingly, large chains are striving to become hipper and offer guests the flavor of the community before they leave the hotel. Another Marriott chain - the upscale Renaissance - in October launched an official music program called "RLife Live" that plays up local, emerging artists in its hotels.
Even when chains don't have official programs in place, though, individual hotels in communities where emerging artists live sometimes take their own steps to incorporate the arts in some way.
Full Story  Preview sample of works HERE