Showing posts with label Vista Studios. Show all posts

Thursday, October 20, 2016

New public artwork welcomes creators to Community Innovation Center

October 3, 2016

New public artwork is on display thanks to a partnership between One Columbia for Arts and History and United Way of the Midlands.

The two organizations united to commission a set of sculptures in conjunction with the dedication of the Community Innovation Center. The sculptures, called “Infinity Extended I and II,” were created by Columbia-based artists Sharon Collings Licata. One sculpture will be posted at each of the two entrances to the Community Innovation Center.

Infinity Extended I and II was created by Columbia-based artist Sharon Collings Licata. (Photo provided)

“Art is a verb. United Way’s mission of uniting people and resources to improve the quality of life in the Midlands is reflected in the interwoven nature of the sculptures,” said Licata, who has a studio in Vista Studios/Gallery 80808 in the Vista. “The two strands reaching upward reference the two aspects of United Way’s process, needs and resources, and how they continue to grow and change.”

The idea is for the Community Innovation Center to become a home for local creators.

“We want our new Community Innovation Center to be a hub for collaboration and creativity in the Midlands. We thank Wells Fargo for funding this project, and we appreciate the beautiful piece of art created by Sharon Licata and One Columbia for their help making this become a reality,” said President and CEO of United Way of the Midlands Mac Bennett.

Tuesday, August 2, 2016

Noelle Brault at Vista Studios! Mark you Calendars

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Vista Studios-Gallery 80808, located at 808 Lady St. in Columbia, SC will be featuring native Columbia artist Noelle Brault from August 25^th through August 29^th.

The exhibit is entitled “Iconic Columbia” and will feature original oil paintings showcasing the Columbia that residents often tend to overlook or take for granted. The exhibit will begin with an opening reception on August 25^th from 5:00 PM through

8:00 PM.

Wine and hors d’oeuvres will be served and all are welcome to come and enjoy some outstanding impressionist works of art featuring South Carolina’s own Capital City.

Noelle was born and raised in the Columbia area and currently lives in the downtown Elmwood Park neighborhood with her husband Ed and their pets Cheyenne and Xerxes. She loves to paint light and vibrant colors and prefers a medium of oil on linen panels. Noelle is drawn to impressionism because she is much more interested in the “flavor” of a scene than a depiction of it. Her paintings allow others to get the sense of being there to really appreciate the moment. Noelle is best known for her landscapes and streetscapes of beautiful southern places. She enjoys the low country as well as the mountains. Since Ed was born and raised in Maine, she sometimes visits and paints beautiful coastal Maine scenes as well. Still, Noelle really loves to re-introduce Capital City residents to the Columbia that is so beautiful, right under our noses, but often overlooked. It’s nice to be reminded of all that Columbia has to offer and all the interesting things going on just outside residents’ own living rooms.

Noelle has been painting since 2008, starting with classes offered by 80808’s own Michel McNinch. Noelle studied under Michel for several years and still goes back to class from time to time to get advice and paint with her mentor. The very first time Noelle showed one of her paintings in public she won the 2010 Central Carolina Food and Wine Festival poster contest. Since then she has won several SC State Fair awards, a prestigious plein air painting award given by her fellow artists, Best in Show at “Arts On The Ridge” in Ridgeway, SC, and Noelle even has a painting hanging in the SC Governor’s Mansion as a part of its permanent collection. Noelle is an associate member of Oil Painters of America and an associate member of the American Impressionist Society. She has paintings in several local business establishments (to include Sylvan’s Jewelers, The Capital City Club and Good Life Café) and has sold her “southern charm” paintings all over the country. To preview works by Noelle, please visit her website ( www.noellebrault.com ).

Make sure to set aside Thursday evening, August 25^th to drop by 80808, talk with the artist, enjoy some wine and food, and most importantly to soak in a fresh Columbia, SC through Noelle Brault’s beautiful original impressionistic paintings.

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Sunday, October 27, 2013

VISTA LIGHTS 2013 - NEW WORK BY VISTA STUDIOS' ARTISTS - GRATITUDE

Vista Studios

808 Lady Street

Columbia, SC 29201

www.VistaStudios80808.com

803-252-6134

Gratitude: New Work from the Artists of Vista Studios

The resident artists of Vista Studios are pleased to present “Gratitude”, an exhibition of new work, from November 20th- December 3^rd. The opening reception will be Thursday, November 21^st, from 5-9pm, in conjunction with the Annual Vista Lights Celebration. Woven throughout the show is each artist’s unique response to the theme of “gratitude”. This event provides a unique opportunity to visit with the artists in their studios as well as view their new collection of work.

Vista Studios is excited to welcome Eileen Blyth, studio #11, in her first resident exhibition. "I am particularly grateful these days for a new work space. Change in routine can shake things up. My work incorporates and expresses some of that gratitude."

For some, it is the feeling of thankfulness for gifts given and received, for the joy in creating, and communicating through art.

Ethel Brody loves bold colors and strong designs and continues experimenting with both. She will be showing new work unlike any of her other pieces.

Stephen Chesley has undertaken a nautical series to compliment his landscapes. “They are all interrelated and undervalued as ecosystems.”

Pat Gilmartin will be showing the uniqueness of individuals and a variety of emotions in her series entitled "Echos of Shadows" featuring multiple small faces mounted on a background panel. The panels are lit from above, creating shadows that become part of the overall work.

Robert Kennedy will be showing new charcoal drawings of figure models from the sketch group, About Face at the Columbia Museum of Art, in which he is a member.

Generally using needle and thread for self-expression, Susan Lenz works to articulate the accumulated memory inherent in discarded things. She seeks a partnership with her materials, their purposes, values, and familiar associations. Memory, universal mortality, and personal legacy are central themes. Vintage and recycled materials are combined with meticulous handwork. Susan is drawn to textiles for their tactile qualities and often makes work that is meant to touch and be touched.

Laurie McIntosh’s installation. “Dear people,” uses paper currency as a support and vehicle for sending a thought out into the world, each bill being a portable, roaming, wandering surface of graffiti and personal expression. All proceeds from this project will be donated to Children’s Garden, a childcare center for six weeks to five-year-old children of homeless and needy families in Columbia, SC.

Michel McNinch is exploring gratitude by thinking of the all the gifts she has received and given. She recently returned from studying a new painting technique and palette with Karen Appleton of Chicago IL and is excited to share what she learned. Michel has enjoyed teaching others to paint and her lessons are taught with the principle that everyone can learn to communicate through painting.

Laura Spong explores the theme of gratitude in loss in her painting Don't Cry Because It's Over Be Grateful Because It Was. “Losing something or someone dear is sad, but only because they were a joy and, therefore, should be remembered with joy. It's why loss so often is bittersweet.”

Kirkland Smith continues her assemblage work with a commissioned portrait of the late Dr. Alan Roberts, in which she has memorialized him using his personal items. The items are like memories, reminders of the everyday moments that tell the story of who he was.

Also participating are Heidi Darr-Hope, Sharon Licata, and David Yaghjian.

The Show will run through Tuesday, Dec. 3^rd. Gallery hours are weekdays 11am-3pm and weekends 1-4pm, or by appointment. Please call Gallery 80808 at (803) 252-6134 to confirm hours. Their website is www.VistaStudios80808.com.

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If you would like more information or hi-res images, please call 803-622-7838 or email Kirkland@KirklandSmith.com.