Stephen Chesley presents "27 Days in July"

Gallery 80808/Vista Studios was prominently featured on the cover and in two articles of the brand new, on-line edition of WINK. See it HERE!


(Above: Vincent by Stephen Chesley. Oil on linen, 20" x 17 1/4". July 27th, 2009. Click on image to enlarge.)

Stephen Chesley presents:

"27 Days in July"
October 29th - November 3rd
Gallery 80808/Vista Studios
808 Lady Street in Columbia's arts and cultural district
(803) 252-6134

OPENING RECEPTION:
Thursday, October 29th from 6 - 8

An excellent article was recently written by the state's best known art critic Jeffrey Day. It includes an in depth overview of the show's concept, undertaking, and challenges. It also includes several good photos. It can be accessed HERE!

When asked for a few words about his solo exhibition, Stephen Chesley provided the following statement:
....." It was Sunday July 27^th ,1890, that Vincent Van Gogh,37, took a revolver to himself,,,,,he had been in Auvers-sur-Oise since May 20^th, and had painted some seventy-five works,and sixty-six drawings."27 Days in July" was inspired by Vincent’s painting "Landscape at Auvers in the Rain", which was exhibited as part of the touring Davies Collection , National Museum of Wales ,at the Columbia Museum of Art in 2009." Landscape at Auvers in the Rain" was painted by Vincent less than two weeks before he took his own life.

This exhibition,"27 Days In July" contains the exact number and dimensions of Vincent’s last works, ,,,,painted that last month,,,,, July, 1890. It is homage to Vincent and a further understanding of him ,,,it is testimonial to his dedication to painting and himself under the most devastating of personal circumstances. The number of works, 23, is a physical illustration of Vincent’s focus, strength, and ability.,,,also, looking at the same canvas dimensions Vincent utilized gives one and understanding of the intellectual challenge and approach to space and design that Vincent himself saw.,,,,those last 27 days ,,,,,,in July.,,,,,,,,,,,,,

.....
and

",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,In essence this exhibition is what Vincent saw and accomplished in his last month in July of 1890, it is a testimony of what he could do under extreme circumstances,, and in seeing ,, looking at theses 23 canvas surfaces and dimensions,,,perhaps one may experience some of the same spatial and compositional thoughts Vincent entertained, ,,,,, and a more poignant unanticipated outcome,,,,,, through Vincent’s canvas choices as one looks at them,,,the presence of Vincent himself."

Included in this exhibition are the following three pieces:

(Above: Melon. Oil on linen. 21" X 25". Click on image to enlarge.)

(Above: Tree, Pond. Oil on linen. 26" X 31". Click on image to enlarge.)

(Above: The Last Farm House. Oil on linen. 29" x 36". 2009. Click on image to enlarge.)

Additional images of art work by Stephen Chesley can be found HERE!

Morsberger and Yaghjian: Time Travelers and Dancing Man

if ART Gallery presents
at Gallery 80808/Vista Studios
808 Lady St., Columbia, S.C.

Philip Morsberger - Time Travelers
&
David Yaghjian - Dancing Man

Oct. 16 – 27, 2009
Artists’ Reception: Friday, Oct. 16, 5 –9 p.m.

(Above: That-A-Way by Philip Morsberger. 2002-2006. Oil on canvas.

30" x 24".)

(Above: Dog Through Hoop by David Yaghjian. Oil. 20" x 20". Click on image to enlarge.)

Opening Hours:
Saturday, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Sunday, 1 – 5 p.m. Weekdays, 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. and by appointment.
For more information, contact Wim Roefs at (803) 238-2351 – wroefs@sc.rr.com

For a preview of the exhibition, go to http://ifartgallery.blogspot.com

With its two simultaneous solo exhibitions at Gallery 80808/Vista Studios in Columbia, S.C., if ART Gallery introduces the widely revered painter Philip Morsberger. Morsberger is the former head of the Oxford University art department in England; he recently joined if ART Gallery. Along with the Morsberger’s show, Time Travelers, if ART presents Columbia native and resident David Yaghjian’s solo exhibition Dancing Man. Yaghjian’s will be his first solo exhibition in Columbia since 2000, when he exhibited at the now-defunct Morris Gallery. The exhibition will also be Yaghjian’s first solo exhibition featuring his “every man” series, which he began to develop some five years ago.

Morsberger (b. 1933) will be showing a selection of the vigorously painted and drawn figurative/representational works inhabited with cartoon-like and other creatures for which he is known. The exhibition also will include Morberger’s non-objective paintings, in which he develops an abstract-expressionist approach that also often shows through in his representational work. In the 2007 book Philip Morsberger: A Passion for Painting, author Christopher Loyd writes of Morsberger’s “mythical universe, comprising a whole cast of fantastical creatures, both human and animal. . . All these creatures inhabit a turbulent, chaotic world that is hugely energized and dominated by a mood of restlessness.” About Morsberger’s use of colors, Loyd writes: “Color is a distinctive feature of the recent narrative paintings . . . The colors sing on the canvas.” Baltimore native Morsberger studied at Oxford in the mid-1950s and from 1971-1984 was the university’s Ruskin Master of Drawing. He used the prestigious position to develop and head a now renowned, full-blown art department at Oxford University. In the United States, Morsberger has taught at Harvard University, Dartmouth University, UC Berkeley, the California College of Arts and Crafts, Miami University and other institutions. He retired from teaching after a five-year stint as Williams S. Morris Eminent Scholar in Art at Augusta State University in Augusta, Ga. His work is in several museums, including the San Francisco Museum of Art.

Yaghjian (b. 1948) will present a selection of his most recent “Everyman” paintings. Many of the works present metaphoric and symbolic, often psychologically pregnant scenes showing a man edging toward post-middle age, and physically somewhat resembling Yaghjian, going through “real” or fantastic trials and tribulations. “The images,” Yaghjian says, “are a way of acknowledging the below-the-surface currents. Stating in a full frontal position the obvious and not so obvious. A man is a man angry, sad, fat, dying, elated, lecherous, leprous, deflated, pompous, hilarious…on his head, with a dog, with a monkey. Sometimes a woman accompanies him. They are figurative pieces, fantasies, what I call ‘semi narratives’. They are scenes of a midpoint in a situation.”

Yaghjian has exhibited across the Carolinas, including at the Blue Spiral I Gallery in Asheville, N.C., if ART Gallery and the Florence (S.C.) Museum of Art. 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 Massachussetts’ 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.

(Above: Back Bend by David Yaghjian. Click on image to enlarge.)

(Above: La Barricade by Philip Morsberger. 2006-2007. Oil on canvas. 48" x 36".)

David and Ellen Yaghjian featured in Columbia Metropolitan

The following image and article appeared in the October issue of Columbia Metropolitan Magazine. The article, "Complementary Pairs" was written by Robin Cowie Nalepa and featured photography by Jeff Amberg. Two other couples were included....but this blog post is only about Gallery 80808/Vista Studio artist David Yaghjian and his lovely wife Ellen. Click on the images to enlarge...and to read the text!

Jason Amick presents NEW WORKS

(Above: Isaac. Oil on panel by Jason Amick. 9 1/2" x 14 1/2". Click on image to enlarge.)

Jason Amick presents “New Works” exhibition
at Gallery 80808 in Columbia, SC
808 Lady Street in Columbia's arts and cultural district

RECEPTION: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9 from 5 - 9
Additional Gallery hours:
Sunday, Oct. 11 from 1 - 5
and by appointment on Saturday, Oct. 10 and Monday, Oct. 11
Call : (803)629-3827


Columbia native Jason Amick will present "Jason Amick: New Works", a solo exhibition of paintings, monotypes and etchings at Gallery 80808 in Columbia, SC. The exhibition will hang from Friday, October 9th through Monday, October 12th. An opening reception will be held from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm on Friday, October 9th. Themes of sacrifice, redemption, faith, and obedience are the subject matter for this recent body of paintings and prints largely drawn from the Old and New Testaments of the Bible.


Painting and drawing from a young age, Jason Amick received early recognition for his work. In high school his painting won "Best in Show" for the SC Scholastic Art & Writing Awards and was exhibited in Washington, DC. In college Amick again won "Best in Show" for the 1998 University of South Carolina Student Art Exhibition. In 1999 he was honored with the Edmund Yaghjian Undergraduate of the Year Award and received his BFA in studio art. Amick spent two weeks working in Europe while participating in the 2004 German/American Artist Exchange in Columbia's sister city Kaiserslautern, Germany. Amick has work is in private collections in the South Eastern United States and Germany. He lives in Lexington, SC with his wife and daughters.

(Above: Tobit by Jason Amick. Monotype. 6" x 4". Click on image to enlarge.)
For more information visit www.jasonamick.com. To view other images t be on display, please click HERE!

Jason Amick: New Works covered in The State

From the Arts Calendar in The State Newspaper’s Sunday, October 4, 2009 Life and Style section by Otis R. Taylor, Jr.

Sacrifice, redemption and faith. The themes swell in Jason Amick's solo exhibition "Jason Amick: New Works" which opens Friday at Gallery 80808. The paintings, monotypes and etchings have remarks of spirituality. One particular image, "Tobit," a 4-by-6 inch monotype, depicts the face of a man. He is withered, his features contorting. At first glance, the face is one of pain. On another, the man seems at peace, relaxed. The shadows in the work present myriad readings of the piece. Many of the 20 to 30 pieces in the show, Amick said, are inspired by the Bible, with "Tobit" specifically encouraged by the Book of Tobit in the Catholic and Orthodox Scriptures. Tobit was a blind old man who had become a burden on his family. He had only one prayer, a single wish. "My version in the monotype of Tobit depicts him with his blindness and his mental state of wishing for death," Amick said. "His soul has been beaten down, but he's come to accept his fate. "Tobit is a good man who seems to be unfairly punished. The Book of Tobit grapples with why bad things happen to good people, which is a question that I think nearly everyone can relate to." The Bible has been a source for Amick's work for more than a decade, as he has tried to discern the relationship between faith and reason. "I found myself playing the role of devil's advocate in my past work as I weighed in as both a religious person and a naturally skeptical person with an interest in science," said Amick, a University of South Carolina graduate. "This latest body of work abandons the conflicted and skeptic-sided view of faith." Another image, "Isaac," a 9.5-by-14.5-inch oil on panel, features Isaac lounging, arms stretched, on what appears to be logs or a raft. Isaac, the only child of Abraham and Sarah, and the father of Jacob and Esau, did not leave Canaan because God forbade him. In this painting, is he pondering his faith, his sacrifices, his obedience? Like a lot of the stories in the Bible, this work is left to interpretation.

The show runs through Oct. 12. There's an opening reception from 5 to 9 Friday. Gallery 80808 is at 808 Lady St. (803) 252-6134