The Department of Fine Arts sponsors the Art Gallery Series, hosting varied shows of two and three dimensional works showcasing local and regional artists. Exhibits change regularly throughout the academic year.

The mission of the art galleries program is to present exhibitions that support and enhance the academic goals of the visual arts program at Francis Marion University, providing a non-profit institutional setting in the service of society for educational purposes. Under the supervision of the Fine Arts Department faculty, the galleries curator is committed to researching, exhibiting and interpreting for the purpose of study, objects, activities, and documents focused on the visual arts.

Art galleries are located in both the Hyman Fine Arts Center and the Smith University Center. The University Center Gallery is in the main commons area and is optimized for secure display of large two-dimensional works. The Fine Arts Center Gallery features large cases along glass walls, allowing three-dimensional works to be displayed and viewed from the outdoor breezeway as well as inside the commons serving the Fine Arts Theatre and Adele Kassab Recital Hall. A lighting grid and configurable display partitions provide a flexible gallery space for two- and three-dimensional works throughout the remainder of the gallery.

Senior shows are required of all students majoring in Visual Arts. At the end of each semester, the galleries also feature works produced by students enrolled in studio art classes. These shows give students hands-on experience in selection and installation of artworks, publicity of exhibition, and external review by the University community and general public.

The Galleries Curator then selects among distinguished regional artists to fill out the Art Gallery Series schedule in order to have two- and three-dimensional shows changing regularly throughout the academic year. Whenever possible, gallery openings are designed to coincide with First Tuesday Arts Event concerts, a series of light and varied chamber music recitals held in the Kassab Recital Hall adjacent to the Fine Arts Center Gallery.

Below find information about some of this season's exhibitions. Please check the Arts Calendar for more information about First Tuesday concerts as well as the Art Gallery Series schedule.

Recent Works by Jackie Wukela

"My hope is to explore the world of color and light -- looking at things we see every day and recording them during a moment of magic."

After several years as an elementary school teacher and then full time wife and mom, Jackie Wukela now devotes much of her time to her art.  Educated in Georgia with a degree in education and further work in art at the University of South Carolina, Jackie has been doing commission work for over 20 years.

Although she began working in acrylics, over the years patron requests have led to study and work in watercolor, pencil, colored pencil, pastels and oils.  "Commission work spawns ideas, so it becomes at once a luxury and then a necessity to have time to try out new techniques or further develop old interests.  I try not to get bogged down in one medium for too long.  I do a great deal of portrait commissions in oil and colored pencil, but my most innovative work right now is in acrylics."

Recent Works by Lynda English

Lynda English is a native of Florence, South Carolina.  She is a member of the Florence Artist's Guild, a Member of Excellence in the South Carolina Watercolor Society, a signature member in the Southern Watercolor Society and a signature member in the CPSA (Colored Pencil Society of America).  Lynda taught art to 6th graders through high school at The King's Academy in Florence for four years.  She and a business partner, Jackie Wukela, own the Lynda English Studio-Gallery & Art Supply.  She teaches beginner and advanced watercolor classes and watercolor collage at the Gallery, and does portrait and landscape commissions in watercolor and colored pencil.

Lynda paints and draws in a very realist manner giving great attention to color and detail.  She enjoys layering her watercolors and colored pencils to achieve strong rich colors.  Her favorite subjects are ones that have strong lights and darks.  She also likes zooming in on ordinary objects, bringing the viewer right up to them so that they can feel and see things that normally they would overlook and take for granted.

Xochimilco: La Isla de las Muñecas
Photographs by Ann Lane

"I have been visiting and photographing in Mexico each year since 1991 and spending most of my time in San Miguel de Allende, a colonial city designated a national monument by the Mexican government.  Writers and artists, both national and foreign who are drawn by its art and architecture, its natural beauty, and its culture frequent the city.

"Even with all of this it is the people who fascinate me.  The intensity of their celebrations, fiestas, parades, fireworks, bull fights and the Pamplonada intrigue me.  It is the people, the children, the crowds, the excitement that I love; this is Mexico to me.

"During my annual visit in the fall of 2004 I experienced something entirely new to me, Xochimilco and the Island of the Dolls.  With my love of photographing people this was perfect for me.  The island is to some fascinating, to some bizarre and to some horrifying.  To me, it was fascinating, and as soon as I disembarked from the boat I was hard at work trying to capture the essence of the island.  With only about two hours to work before the return trip there was not a minute to waste.  It is my wish that through these photographs you can share the island with me and draw your own conclusion as to its magnetism."

Art Gallery Series
August 6 - September 29, 2005
Hyman Fine Arts Center Gallery

Homage to Hopper & Other Structures
by Lin Barnhardt

Lin Barnhardt graduated from Appalachian State University, Boone, NC in 1974 with a BS degree in art education. Undergraduate concentrations were in painting and printmaking. He later attended graduate school at Appalachian obtaining an MA degree.

Barnhardt has taught art at the secondary level in the public schools of North Carolina including ten years at Apex Senior High, Apex, and two years at A.L. Brown High, Kannapolis. He has been a faculty member at Mt. Pleasant Middle School, Mt. Pleasant since 1988.

In May of 1997 Barnhardt began his current approach of incorporating his interests in architecture, sculpture, and painting into one art form.

ARTIST STATEMENT

Period pieces. Clay buildings document various architectural styles of past and present.
Timepieces. Clay canvases record specific light rays complemented with shadows.

The concept for current works combines several art disciplines. An architectural model is designed with a dropped vanishing point, thus creating a bird's eye point-of-view. Forming the one-of-a-kind structure in earthenware allows for corrugated tin roofs, fluted columns, and textured shingles. Once bisque-fired in a kiln the sculpture becomes a three-dimensional painting.

Scaled as a miniature replica the piece addresses a building's existence and longevity. Each is fragile - each a subject of time.

Life and Art
Paintings by Alex Powers

Alex Powers has been a painter and self-employed art teacher since 1970. He exhibits in galleries in six states, and among his many national juried exhibition awards is the Gold Metal at the 1997 American Watercolor Society Annual Exhibition. He travels and teaches 8 or 10 workshops per year. Alex has juried dozens of national exhibitions. He is the author of Painting People in Watercolor, A Design Approach, which is a Watson-Guptill publication.

Alex’s painting style has evolved into a personal content-dominated imagery. Using gouache, charcoal, pastel and sometimes collage on illustration board, his loose realism combines an emphasis on drawing with an awareness of the art of our times. “I attempt to deal with issues such as human origins, religion, philosophy, economic inequality, etc. These overwhelming issues are difficult to deal with, but they are what interest me. And, since I believe in the singularity of life and art, these issues are the content of my current work.”

Photographs by Jaime Owens

WORK IN PROGRESS

"Photography is something that I've been in love with for a very long time. I can't imagine my life without it. I love documenting my family and friends lives along with everyday things I see. I think the majority of my photos aren't complete until time has pasted and they become dated. As years pass, the photos will become a document of a time past; the good ole days. And  I look forward to the day I can open that shoebox full of photos that tucked away under the bed and be flooded with memories of everything that was important to me; the people I met, the places I've been, the cherished moments of life."

BIO

"I was born and raised in Florence, South Carolina. Graduated from South Florence High School in 1993. I soon after fell in love with photography. Then graduated from Francis Marion University in 1997 with a BA in Studio Arts. I moved to Los Angeles in October 1999 to pursue some sort of career in photography or skateboarding, my other passion. I started interning at Skateboarder Magazine in January 2000. During that time I started working on the MTV show Jackass as a camera man and later as an Associate Producer of the show. In October 2000, I took the photo editor job at Skateboarder Magazine, my dream job. And last year I became the Creative Director here at the magazine. I live in Dana Point, California with my wife and we're expecting our first child in December."

The Pixel Bound
by James Bailey

"The Pixel Bound represents a continuing exploration of digital media and the book format as an artistic form of expression,as well as, the book as both a depository and relayer of information.  

"Speed, complexity, mobility and stimulation are the earmarks of our current modern existence. Through my work I hope to slow down and capture aspects of our daily life that might otherwise go unnoticed. The book allows the viewer a prolonged journey of observation.

"The work in this exhibition records my intrigue with both the human body and with the natural world.  The use of the head, which is often autobiographical in nature, embodies the many facets of our experiences, our moods, dreams, ideas, fears, reason and irrationality. Other books in the show, reveal the cyclical nature of our surroundings."

A full professor of art at the University of Montana, James Bailey has served as chair for the Department of Art.  His teaching emphases are in printmaking, painting and drawing, with additional responsibilities including Director for the Matrix Press Visiting Artist program in printmaking.

Student Work by FMU Photography Classes

Senior Shows by Graduating FMU Visual Arts Graphic Design Majors

Marcus Lee
Jessica McColl
Jennifer Perkins
William Rogers

Student Works by FMU Painting Classes

Student Works by FMU Ceramics Classes

Enghi Journey
Photographs by Toshi Ueshina

"For me, traveling is not only a means to have new experiences or meet with the unknown, it is also a means of spiritual cultivation. In my journeys I have used photography as a poetic, contemplative process analogous to Haiku poetry.

"Photography addresses those things I can sense when tuned into the heart of the events deeply, narrowly and secretly. The scene may be constructed of what seems like abstract elements, but the encounter with events, places, and time are actually an expression of Enghi.

"Enghi is a term in Zen meaning that reality is the result of various causes and conditions gathering together and our sensibility to the wondering the various encounters. I would like to comprehend Enghi as a way of observing abstract relationships as a complex whole through the process of sequencing images."

NASCAR 1950-2000
Paintings by Jeanne Barnes

Jeanne Barnes, a life long native of Florence, South Carolina, began painting at the age of twelve. Loving parents encouraged this interest as well as her interest in music. The smell of oil paint, the feel of the keys and sound of a piano, the exhilaration of ballet lessons - these and the beautiful sea shore of South Carolina are among this artists fondest memories.

Then came NASCAR racing! Twelve miles from the famed Darlington Raceway, NASCAR’s first Super Speedway, Jeanne also grew up hearing the sound of the engines at top speed. The circus-like atmosphere, the crowds, the excitement – these all stayed in her subconscious.

Marriage, then divorce after ten years, three children to raise. A ten year career in advertising sales for the local newspaper helped connect Jeanne’s past with her future, and ultimately her present. Darlington was on the horizon once again. For fourteen years, twice a year, Jeanne was in the thick of racing, working in the Press Credential Office at the Darlington Raceway. Everyone in the racing community passed through the doors of this office, introducing her to her new clients and new world. Thus began the art career combined with NASCAR racing.

Fine art portraits were a staple during the advertising days. The love for the human form in portraiture flowed into racing. Portraits of the NASCAR drivers and their families, car owners, corporate heads, were a natural progression. Living life to the fullest at 200 MPH – not bad for a simple southern girl!

Student Works by FMU Drawing Classes

Student Works by FMU Painting Classes

Senior Shows by Graduating FMU Visual Arts Majors

April 11 - 21, 2006
    Crystal Edwards: Photography
    Natasha Owens: Photography
    Aaron Hill: Photography
       Artists Reception: Monday 11 April, 7:00-8:00 p.m., Hyman Fine Arts Center Gallery

April 21 - May 6, 2006
    Crystal Edwards: Graphic Design
    Anne Sullivan: Graphic Design
    Bradley Richardson: Graphic Design
    Brandon Harrington: Graphic Design
       Artists Reception: Monday 24 April, 6:00-8:00 p.m., Hyman Fine Arts Center Gallery

Student Works by FMU Photography Classes

Student Works by FMU Ceramics and 3D Design Classes

End of a semester's work in the ceramics studio, the kilns have barely had time to cool.  The students finally get to see the finished wares.  Clay bodies have been thrown and rolled and fused and fired to bisque temperature.  Decisions about glazes have been made, they have been mixed and applied to the bisque ware.  Only the final glaze firing will reveal if the clay bodies withstand the higher temperatures, if the slips and glazes sag or fuse or resist as expected, if the colors remain true or react with unexpected contaminants in the kiln, if the end product will hold up under the scrutiny of classmates and be chosen for the show. 

The Quilting Way: Quilts by the Swamp Fox Quilters Guild

A Dance of Fire: Ceramics by Feather Pottery and Interiors

"Working in clay represents, for me, a timeless desire to combine objects of use with beauty, by creating the unique from the ordinary, and to experience beauty in everyday moments."  - Sasha

Born in Prague, Czechoslovakia Republic, Sasha has lived in USA for half his life, in Florence for nine years -- as a clinical psychiatrist by profession, and as a potter by passion.  He studied pottery in Washington and Wisconsin, worked three years as a professional potter in New Hampshire and served as artist-in-residence with the National Endowment for the Arts.

"Working with clay represents the interconnectedness with the forces of nature that surround, and inspire us, along with the shapes that evolve from deep within. My mission is to combine these shapes and forces into art form and functionality." - Tari

Spending much of her life in the Southwest, Tari studied as an art major at Ventura College and the University of California Santa Barbara.  A few years ago she closed her studio in North Carolina and moved to Florence, SC, to marry and join forces with Sasha.  Their joining has resulted in a creative collaboration in their quest to create in clay at their studio, Feather Pottery.

Seen/Unseen - A Textured Life
Abstracts by Angela Ketcham

"Everyone knows the world ain't flat.  It's bumpy.

"The body of work in Seen/Unseen-A Textured Life is an exploration - and celebration - of  the layered and tactile nature of  the everyday experiences that make up Life.  A humid drive on a familiar road, the grainy melt of cheap chocolate, a bug bite... Each carries a wealth of sensory memory, an amalgam of smells, tastes, and yes - textures.

"Using color, symbol, and layers of paint, reclaimed consumer throwaways and materials from nature, these paintings and sculptures attempt to distill such rich yet mundane experiences to a visual form. Each piece functions as a kind of topographical visceral map; they are intended to inform at gut level.

"Many of the works may reveal surprises upon close inspection...and who can say what is buried unseen beneath the surface?"

Ceramics Exhibit: Hiroshi Sueyoshi

A native of Tokyo, Japan, Hiroshi Sueyoshi studied at Tokyo Aeronautical College and Ochanomizu Design Academy prior to becoming an apprentice with Masanao Narui in Mashiko, Japan in 1968. He moved to the United States in 1971 to help design and build Humble Mill Pottery in Asheboro, NC. He continued his studies and work in 1973 with Teruo Hara of the Kobo Group in Warrenton, VA. Since then, Mr. Sueyoshi has lived in North Carolina and has worked with Seagrove Pottery as a production potter and with the Sampson Arts Council in Clinton as a pottery instructor. He currently lives in Wilmington, where he has a studio and teaches pottery through the Division of Continuing Education at Cape Fear Technical Institute.

Mr. Sueyoshi works primarily in thrown and handbuilt porcelain using the Japanese neriage and nerikomi techniques of sandwiching and faceting uncolored and colored porcelain. His pieces are in many private, corporate and institutional collections around the country, including First Union National Bank, RJ Reynolds, Atlantic Christian College, Northern Telecom Company, and the Renwick Gallery of the National Collections of Fine Art at the Smithsonian Institution. His work has also appeared in multiple exhibitions and won awards nationwide, such as the Marietta College Crafts National, the Annual North Carolina Artist Exhibition, the Annual Crafts Invitational, the Biennial Exhibition of Piedmont Crafts, and the American Porcelain Show.

Mixed Media by Tom Herzog

Tom Herzog is a native of Wyoming and lived in Montana for 30 years. Tom recently moved to Florence, South Carolina with his wife, Teresa, He continues to paint and sculpt in his studio. Tom has a Bachelors degree in Art from Montana State University-Billings. Tom's watercolor paintings have won numerous awards in national and international juried competitions. His work may be found in corporate and private collections throughout the country.