The Gibbes Museum of Art opens a new exhibition in September along with many other happenings, including a workshop for children.
New special exhibition
Bo Bartlett: Earthly Matters, September 9, 2022 – January 15, 2023Acclaimed for his large-scale paintings that explore modern American life and cultural heritage, contemporary artist Bo Bartlett follows the traditions of American Realists such as Thomas Eakins, Edward Hooper and Andrew Wyeth. Earthly Matters presents a selection of Bartlett’s recent works that examine humankind’s impact on and interaction with nature’s elements. Bartlett’s subjects, both human and animal, find themselves in precarious environmental situations, either from their own doing or by forces beyond their control. Bartlett’s appreciation for the beauty of ordinary moments imbues his work with an underlying luminosity and frankness. His larger-than-life scenes break down the barriers between the subjects on canvas and the viewers, who are invited to contemplate their role in the narrative. For images, click here.
Programming
Gallery Talk with Susan Klein, September 3, 2022, 2:00 – 2:30 pm
Coupling, an exhibition of works by past Visiting Artist Susan Klein, is currently on display in the Art Sales Gallery until September 11. Join Susan for a tour of her exhibition on Saturday, September 3. Susan’s work involves the merging of mixed media paintings and drawings inspired by her sculptural work. Through loose, improvisational handling of materials, she creates playful work that results in imperfect structures. This body of work is meant to ensure a full sensory experience. The color and shapes involved often have a taste and touch associated with them. Susan’s work has the ability to shift in purpose and meaning and the power to communicate a multiplicity of ideas at once.
Price: Free and open to the public
Bo Bartlett: Earthly Matters Tour with Guest Curator Pamela Wall, September 14, 2022, 12:30 – 1:30 pm
Join guest curator Pamela Wall for a guided tour of the Gibbes’ newest exhibition, Bo Bartlett: Earthly Matters. This exhibition displays works by contemporary artist Bo Bartlett that he has created since receiving the 1858 Prize for Contemporary Southern Art in 2017. Earthly Matters includes a selection of Bartlett’s work that examines humankind’s impact on and interaction with nature’s elements.
Price: Members: Free | Non-members: Included with museum admission
Literary Book Club: Weather by Jenny Offill, September 17, 2022, 10:30 am – 12 noon
Join the Gibbes to discuss the book club pick Weather by Jenny Offill, inspired by Bo Bartlett: Earthly Matters. Weather is a darkly funny and urgent tour de force about a family and a nation in crisis. For more information and to register, click here.
Price: Free
Event for children
Illustration Workshop Ages 8-10: Comic Zine Making, September 10, 2022, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
In this fun workshop, author, illustrator and educator Clare Pernice will discuss easy Zine making tools and present examples. “Zinesters,” one who practices the art and craft of making zines, will explore ideas such as a story from their personal life or dreams. Using words and drawings, participants will be guided to create and finish a Zine to be copied and shared. A Zine can be done in any drawing style and is self-published and printed on a copier. For more information and to register, click here.
Price: Members: $75 | Non-members: $85
Ongoing special exhibition
William Eggleston: Photographs from the Laura and Jay Crouse Collection, February. 25 – October 9, 2022
It is said that William Eggleston’s unique ability to conflate the epic and the everyday has made him one of the most impactful figures in late twentieth century photography. A native of Memphis, Tennessee, Eggleston first photographed his local environs in the 1950s in black-and-white but became one of the first fine art photographers to use color to record his observations in a more heightened and accurate way. Today his strikingly vivid, yet enigmatic images of parked cars, billboards, storefronts, diners and other artifacts of the ordinary world are considered groundbreaking. The photographs presented in this edition of the Gibbes’ Charleston Collects exhibition series were selected from the Laura and Jay Crouse Collection and represent many of the pioneering artist’s most notable works. For images, click here.
-Submitted by The Gibbes Museum