“Distant Echoes” by Canadian artist Ingrid Bachmann of a digital photo by David Leeson printed on fabric. From Fiberarts International Show at the Clay Center through June 22, 2008.

SOUR: “So, Sweet, what were some of your favorite art exhibits/events of April, now that “the cruellest month” is done for?
SWEET: “I have two favorites, in terms of innovation and artistic relevance and excellence: No. 1: The photographic installation by Doug Minnerly, Mark Wolfe and company at the “Stations of the Cross” exhibit during Easter. That collaborative effort was outstanding. It worked visually and intellectually. Really unique, unlike anything else attempted here in Charleston in that vein. Also, kudos to the church for showing this always interesting and consistently outstanding creative art exploration of the Easter Season.
__________
SWEET: No. 2 favorite thing on display in April is the excellent fabric show on view at The Clay Center. This is indeed a worthy showing by a regional art player (which the Clay Center purports to be and hopefully will continue to grow into). Here’s the official statement of the show, organized by the Fiberarts Guild of Pittsburgh: Read the rest of this entry »

“Moth Man No. 8 ” by Robert Villamagna, now on view at Taylor Books Annex Gallery. See more of Villamagna’s work at his website.

SOUR: “I have two faves exhibits that have been on display recently. Robert Villamagna’s new one-person show at Taylor Books and the Recent Earth Day auction for Habitat for Humanity. Villamagna, who teaches at West Liberty College, works in assemblage, collage, and mixed-media. His work has been exhibited at the Carnegie Museum of Art, Andy Warhol Museum, ARC Gallery (Chicago), Penn State’s Robeson Gallery, Pittsburgh Center of the Arts, Erie Museum of Art, Huntington Museum of Art, and the West Virginia Cultural Center. His work continues to develop. The work on display now at Taylor is funny and personal, smaller pieces that are nonetheless effective. This may be the strongest one-person show of his I’ve seen.

And let’s hear it for a plethora of established and up-and-coming artists who contributed for the worthy cause of Earth Day and Habitat for Humanity on April 22. Great work, great variety, good for mother earth and good for the community. A Triumvirate Show.”

Ryan Russell’s “Route 39 Haybales,” an oil on canvas, is among the works at the Callen McKunkin Gallery. Click to enlarge

Sweet and Sour pass on this early reaction to the new Callen McJunkin Gallery space at 219 Hale St., in the loft upstairs from Gina Puzzuoli Miller’s Stray Dog Antiques, which you can see on the Thursday, April 17 ArtWalk in downtown Charleston.

Wow! Ups the game of being a “gallerist” as they say in the Big Leagues in NYC, LA and beyond. Actually, the new Callen McJunkin Gallery space is like being in NYC, LA or beyond. Never been a space like this one in Charleston. Kudos to her. Fantastic. Looks like she’s inherited the reigning art doyenne title from Sherry Lovett, although, of course,

Marilyn Cooper’s Cooper Gallery in Lewisburg is in the running. And Lisa Fischer Casto and Mimi Dinsmore are coming right along at The Art Store. (Their new show is intellectually and visually impressive.) And then you have to give a nod to Ann Saville and Angie at the Taylor Books Annex Gallery, also. And, while we’re handing out enconiums, the Art Emporium folks also deserve “Mr. and Mrs. Congeniality Award.” They are always doing such great service to the circle of artists who work in this area. They really give back to the community.

Reprinted from the April 7, 2008 Charleston Gazette

By Bob Schwarz

Local art dealer Callen McJunkin will reopen her gallery April 15, this time at 219 Hale St., in the loft upstairs from Gina Puzzuoli Miller’s Stray Dog Antiques.

The Callen McJunkin Gallery most recently was across from Taylor Books on Capitol Street, where McJunkin shared a storefront with photographer Steve Payne. At the time, she said it was her best space yet, but she gave it up when Payne decided two years ago to run his photography business out of his home. Read the rest of this entry »

 
“Spring Day” by Okiie Hashimoto

‘Our Art’ is a regular feature on art in collections around West Virginia. Reprinted from the April 6, 2008 Sunday Gazette-Mail 

By Bob Schwarz
bobschwarz@wvgazette.com
Okiie Hashimoto graduated from the Tokyo School of Fine Arts, where he trained to be an art teacher, learning painting techniques that American and European artists learned. He was a watercolorist then. Later, he took a short course in Japanese woodblock printing.

He first exhibited at the Japanese Print Association Show in 1937, but remained a part-time printmaker until 1955 when he retired as assistant principal of a Tokyo high school.

Hashimoto sticks to the flatness and patterns of Japanese decorative arts while relying on compositional elements of Western art, said Clay Center associate curator Denise Deegan. “It’s an image of a three-dimensional place that’s made to look very flat.” Read the rest of this entry »