The
Pickens County Cultural Commission is pleased to announce that the
“Pickens County Museum’s Twenty-Ninth Annual Juried Artist’s
Exhibition” will open to the public with a reception and awards
ceremony on Saturday April 26. The reception will begin at 5:00 p.m.
with an awards presentation at 7:00 p.m. The exhibition will continue
through June 5, 2008.
Josh
Yu, a professor of painting at the Savannah College of Art and Design
since 1994 served as juror for this year’s competition. In addition
to serving as the Chair of the Painting Department at SCAD, Yu assists
and directs special projects and international exhibitions. He received
his B.F.A. from Memphis College of Art, Memphis, TN and his M.F.A.
from Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, GA.
Since
coming to the US from China in 1987, Yu has had numerous solo exhibitions
including his 1998 one-man exhibition in China's National Gallery
in Beijing. In 1999, he won the Golden Award for the Forte Cup 10th
Century Asian Pacific Competition in Washington, DC. In 2002 his traveling
exhibition of recent work, “Riding the Wind” was displayed
at the Rawls Museum of Arts in Courtland, VA; Alexander Main Gallery
in Savannah, GA; Zhu Qizhan Museum of Art in Shanghai, China; and
the Haw Par Exhibition Hall in Singapore. In 2007 his catalogued show,
“Following the Heart” was shown in the Fu Da Gallery at
the Shanghai Oil Painting and Sculpture Institute and then at the
Gunagzhong Gallery in Shanghai, China. This year, “Following
the Heart” has been revised for exhibition at the Haw Par Exhibition
Hall in Singapore. Yu has also participated in more than 50 group
shows in galleries and museums in the U.S. and abroad.
Professor
Yu continues to pursue academic and artistic excellence through lectures
and paper presentations such as his 2004, Presentation on “The
Influence of Chinese Traditional Arts on Post-Modernism” at
the 9th International Conference at Towson University in Baltimore,
MD; his 2006 lecture on “Chinese Culture and the Art Center
of the World in the 21st Century” at Shanghai University in
Shanghai, China. In 2007, Professor Yu served for the third time as
a member of the Delegation of Chinese Professors teaching in the United
States, visiting Taiwan for the study “Taiwan and Cultural Changes.”
Yu spent
the days of April 12 & 13 looking at, and contemplating 327 works
of art representing 175 South Carolina artisans. The vast array of
paintings, drawings, photographs, prints, metal, ceramics, fiber and
other mediums made for the difficult task of selecting works for,
and eliminating works from, the final show. The impressive final selection
of 151 works of art represents 117 individuals currently creating
visual art in this state.
About
the jury, Professor Yu said, “As a Chinese-American artist and
professor with a multicultural background, I was very excited by the
challenge of viewing and judging the competition. This gave me an
opportunity to view so many artworks representing the South Carolina
art community; due to the limitation of show space, it was painful
for me to eliminate almost 60% of the submitted pieces.”
“There
was a number of great works worthy of my nomination for awards and
mentions,” he continued. “Overall, I am extremely pleased
to see some excellent works with multimedia and multiform, produced
by different levels of professional, emerging or self-taught artists.
As to why I have been interested in certain works and not others,
I will say that points regarding the conscious component of judging
that may possibly be articulated. These include creativity, uniqueness,
encouragement, diversity and involvement. We are living in a multicultural
environment; we support each other and we want to have more and more
people to be involved in our art community. Artistic creativity enriches
and improves our lives.”
Thanks
to the kind sponsorships of Pickens County & the Pickens County
Cultural Commission, Roger & Susan Benjamin, Connie & June
Bowers, Central Textiles, Inc., Donald & Margaret Collins, Seth
& Doreen Heimlich, Greystone Industries, Inc., Liberty Denim LLC,
the Reserve at Lake Keowee Community Foundation, John & Judy Rozelle
and Shirley Sarlin, cash and purchase awards valued more than $ 7,500.00
will be presented at the April 26 Opening Reception. The Pickens County
Museum of Art & History is funded in part by Pickens County, friends
and members of the museum and a grant from the South Carolina Arts
Commission, which receives support from the National Endowment for
the Arts.
No matter
where your individual taste in art may lead, you will find satisfaction
in this exhibition. The variety of work represented is a generous
reflection of the community of artists presently at work in South
Carolina.
Located
at the corner of Hwy. 178 at 307 Johnson Street in Pickens SC, the
museum is open Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9:00 a.m. until
5:00 p.m., Thursdays from 9:00 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. and Saturdays
from 9:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Admission is free but donations are
welcomed. For more information call the museum at (864) 898-5963.
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