if ARTwalk: Salon I & II: December 11- 24, 2008

For exhibition installation images, click here.

THE SALON I & II

Dec. 11 – 24, 2008

an exhibition at two Columbia, SC, locations:

Gallery 80808/Vista Studios

808 Lady Street

&

if ART Gallery

1223 Lincoln Street

Reception and ifART Walk: Thursday, Dec. 11, 5 – 10 p.m.

at and between both locations

Opening Hours:

Weekdays, 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.

Saturday, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Sunday, 1 – 5 p.m.

& by appointment

Open Christmas Eve until 7 p.m.

For more information, contact Wim Roefs at if ART:

(803) 255-0068/ (803) 238-2351 – if-art-gallery@sc.twcbc.com

For its December 2008 exhibition, if ART Gallery presents The Salon I & II, an exhibition at two Columbia, SC, locations: if ART Gallery and Gallery 80808/Vista Studios. On Thursday, December 11, 2008, 5 – 10 p.m., if ART will hold opening receptions at both locations. The ifART Walk will be on Lady and Lincoln Streets, between both locations, which are around the corner from each other.

The exhibitions will present art by if ART Gallery artists, installed salon-style at both Gallery 80808 and if ART. Artists in the exhibitions include two new additions to if ART Gallery, Columbia ceramic artist Renee Rouillier and the prominent African-American collage and mixed-media artist Sam Middleton, an 81-year-old expatriate who has lived in the Netherlands since the early 1960s.

Other artists in the exhibition include Karel Appel, Aaron Baldwin, Jeri Burdick, Carl Blair, Lynn Chadwick, Steven Chapp, Stephen Chesley, Corneille, Jeff Donovan, Jacques Doucet, Phil Garrett, Herbert Gentry, Tonya Gregg, Jerry Harris, Bill Jackson, Sjaak Korsten, Peter Lenzo, Sam Middleton, Eric Miller, Dorothy Netherland, Marcelo Novo, Matt Overend, Anna Redwine, Paul Reed, Edward Rice, Silvia Rudolf, Kees Salentijn, Laura Spong, Tom Stanley, Christine Tedesco, Brown Thornton, Leo Twiggs, Bram van Velde, Katie Walker, Mike Williams, David Yaghjian, Paul Yanko and Don Zurlo.

Works of Art: Steven Chapp

Guardian In Turmoil, 1998

Reduction, relief print, 6/8

12 x 7 in

$350

Works of art by Steven Chapp are available at if ART Gallery, 1223 Lincoln Street, Columbia, SC.

Contact Wim Roefs at if-art-gallery@sc.twcbc.com or (803) 255-0068/(803) 238-2351.

Artist Statement: Steven Chapp

Structural Balance II, 2007

Monotype

9 x 6 in

$380

Artist Statement

The works that accompany this statement represent a theme I have been working with in a variety of media for about the past five years. I intend to set a stage that creates a mystery within the imagery. There has been a visible development in my work. Within the kudzu-draped landscape of upstate South Carolina has intrigued me for some time crows have appeared and over time the crow has evolved into new compositions. I am using the crow as a metaphor for mankind in my work.

My time observing the crows around my home and studio has given me some insight into their social behaviors. I enjoy watching and listening to their congregation and distant chat. 

The history of the crow in other cultures depicts them at times as the trickster and other times as a positive character. The crows play a simple role in my imagery. My crows are observers and the sentinels of the events that concern me in this world. The crow is an extension of myself in my art.

In the latest drawings and monotype prints the crow as a living form is juxtaposed with the inanimate bone. This visual dialog creates a mystery. My new Ghost Crow series plays upon the bones’ past and the crow’s ghostly contrast of its living self. The earlier and continuance of my “Blind Crow” series are images that suggest to me a sense of innocence in the absence of sight. These crow figures are alone and less active currently.

For me the media of intaglio etching, monotypes as well as oil sticks and oil pastel, provide me with the opportunity and excitement of making marks. The techniques I employ with the oils in the drawings and the methods I use to develop my monotype prints are similar. I build up surface with the oil pastels by drawing back into the paper. The difference is that the drawings tend to retain the surface textures I like, whereas the monotypes have the implied textures instead. My monotypes are developed on two or three individual plates run consecutively. This way each plate will have various colors and techniques in order to develop the richness I desire for the image.

The etchings I do are another process entirely. I enjoy the process of actually sculpting the metal plate to reach the desired tonality, line and texture in the image. 

Looking back at my graduate work, which was influenced by my study in Italy, I notice that I still portray mystery and intrigue with my subject matter. There is a narrative quality that beckons for a story to be told or the viewer may find his or her own story within my images.

Steven A. Chapp MFA Clemson

Biography: Steven Chapp

                

STEVEN CHAPP

Easley, S.C., printmaker and painter Steven Chapp (b. 1952), owner of Black Dog Press, is a native of Kansas City, Mo. For more than three decades, he has been a steady presence on the South Carolina art scene, especially in the Upstate. Best known as an expert printmaker, Chapp has shown in galleries, art centers and museums throughout the region, including the Greenville County Museum of Art, the Burroughs and Chapin Museum in Myrtle Beach, the Spartanburg Art Museum and the Pickens County Museum of Art and History, all in South Carolina. Chapp worked on two projects with artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude, in Kansas City in 1978 and Key Biscayne, Fla., in 1983. He directed the 2014’s Shifting Platesand 2016’s Shifting Plates II, a South Carolina Printmakers portfolio exchange and traveling exhibition. Chapp also is one of the organizers of the Contemporary Print Collective, a group of printmakers mostly from Upstate South Carolina. 

Chapp has taught at the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts & Humanities, Greenville County Museum of Art and the Fine Arts Center, all in Greenville, and at Clemson University’s Genoa Italy campus. He also has conducted print workshops throughout South Carolina. Chapp is retired as a teacher for the Greenville County School District for 29 years. He holds an MFA in printmaking and drawing from Clemson University and a BFA from Appalachian State University.

Resume: Steven Chapp

Three Vessels, 2005

Acrylic on panel

15 x 12 in

$600

Born in Kansas City, Mo. 1952, married to Lora Sager

Education:
* 1970- Graduated from high school at Willow Glen H.S., San Jose, Ca.
* 1978- received his undergraduate BS Art ed. degree from Appalachian State University in printmaking and drawing.
* Received M.F.A. in printmaking and drawing from Clemson University in 1984
* Studied at the Charles Daniel Center For Urban Planning known as "the Villa" in Genoa, Italy first semester of 1983, as part of the Clemson MFA program.

Teaching experiences:
* Currently teaching visual arts at Sevier Middle School in Greenville County, S.C.
* Taught one semester at Clemson’s Genoa Italy Campus in Italy spring of 1985
* Taught art in the public schools since 1979
* Taught printmaking and drawing classes at the Greenville County Museum of Art
* Taught in the Fine Arts Center’s Summer Explore the Arts Program for seven years.
* Taught printmaking independently to area artists and teachers in personal studio.
* Printmaking instructor with the South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities Teacher's Institute/ Summer 2005

Art experiences:
* Worked on two projects with Christo and Jean Claude: Oct. of 1978 Wrapped Walkways, Kansas City, MO. and in the spring of 1983 Surrounded Islands, Key Biscayne, Fla.

Publications:
* Art works published in two books: Simple Printmaking by Gwen Diehn; Lark Books 2000
* Closet Drama, cover for a book of poetry by Kandie St. Germain published by Bear Star Press 2001.
* Artwork accepted in the 2007 Kakalak Poetry, Charlotte, NC.

Workshops/ open studio:
* Presented numerous printmaking workshops for Upstate Visual Artists, Converse College, Brevard College, and the School District of Greenville County.
* Participated in Greenville Open Studios 2002-06

Selected Exhibitions
*2007- June, Art Current Group Exhibit
*2007 30th Annual Juried Art Exhibit, Pickens County Museum of Art
*2007 March, Upstate Visual Arts Group Show
*2006- Nov."Brothers In Art" Exhibition with my brother, Jeffery Chapp at the Pickens County Museum of Art.
*2006-Feb. "Conflict and Resolution" a solo exhibit of prints, oil pastels and acrylic paintings at the Conn Gallery, Landrum, SC.
*2006- South Carolina Birds; a traveling exhibit currated by Wim Roefs at the City Gallery, Charleston, SC,
*2005 -Upstate Visual Artists (UVA) Art In The Park merit award
*2005- Artisphere Arts Festival, Invitational artist, Greenville, S.C.
*2004- South Carolina Birds Exhibit; Currated by Wim Roefs shown at the Sumter SC. Gallery of Art, and the Burroughs-Chapin Art Museum in Myrtle Beach , SC.
*2003-received purchase award for Intaglio print "Shadows at Bend" in Pickens County Museum's S.C. Juried Art Exhibition.
*2002- received Best of Show Art in the Park $1000. award
*2002- Open Studio Artists exhibit Greenville County Museum of Art
*2001- received $500. merit award from the UVA Art in the Park
*2000- selected for the UVA , Art in the Park exhibit
*2000- Faces of the Upstate, People and Landscapes of Upstate S.C., Furman University; Sponsored by the S.C. Arts Commission. “Views From the Edge.”
*1998- Red Door Gallery , Anderson, SC
*1994- Art at The Power House National Courage Exhibition, Cleveland, Ohio 2nd Place and monetary award.
*1993- Hands at Work: a Celebration of American Book Crafts, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa.
*1991- This Years Model, Greenville County Museum of Art
*1989- Clemson University MFA Gallery, Alumni Exhibit
*1989- American Relief Prints: A Selection Exhibit, Three Rivers Arts Festival, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Collections:

Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Va., Charlotte, NC branch; 3 works at Pickens County Museum of Art; Fine Arts Center, Greenville, SC.; AnMed Health Campus, Anderson SC., Clemson University Dept. Of Art, and numerous independent collectors.

Essay: Steven Chapp

STEVEN CHAPP’S INTIMATE OBSERVATIONS                        By Wim Roefs

            “I did not think my art was so cerebral,” Steven Chapp says during our interview about his work. Perhaps it isn’t. But Chapp creates narrative imagery in reaction to things that engage him, hoping that viewers will take a thoughtful look and get something from it. That viewers see what they want to see in his images, at times unrelated to his intent, doesn’t bother him. “I don’t think the artist has failed when that happens. I kind of like keeping some parts ambiguous, and the ambiguity is completed by how the viewer interprets the work.”

            Chapp typically, though not exclusively, creates prints, be they monotypes, linoleum – and woodcuts or intaglios, including etchings, drypoints or photopolymer prints. “I would like the viewer to be interested not just in the subject matter but also in how the image is executed,” he says. “Prints have a certain intimacy that requires closer inspection of the work, whether it’s a drypoint or monotype or another print technique. Large scale paintings can be viewed at a greater distance, and sculptures have multiple sides.”

            The crow takes a central place in much of Chapp’s work, as observer and sometimes actor. “To me the crow is an observer, a watcher of events, the ever-present watchful eye. As an artist, I am foremost an observer of things around me, whether they be the landscape, people or animals. In many of my images, I use the crow as metaphor for humankind. Although my crows at times are actors in my narratives, I feel that they speak for the inaction in most cases of mankind.”

            Chapp’s crows foremost assist in telling his stories of mystery and turmoil, at times with a bit of humor. “Don’t get me wrong, life is wonderful, I have no complaints, but I am constantly aware due to media overload of global turmoil. I watch the news and respond. Many people are just observers and take no action, and I suppose my art is a reaction to worldly turmoil in a more antiquated way, through art. I always think there is more I could do. I support some things with monetary contributions, vote in elections, and speak out. Perhaps that responding through art has less impact, but it does satisfy me emotionally.”

            “I was moved by the Boston bombing a few years ago, and the footage of the runners was the impetus for my runner images. I also like puns, and an intaglio print called Running Homeless is a play on running home to a safe place, except that the homeless have nowhere to call home.”

            Chapp likes using dark values and contrasting colors in telling his stories. “Complements are a favorite, such as yellows and violets or blues. I think complements create a visual tension in my work. But many images just ask for black and white. In these works, I strive to create a range of values and gradations in the linoleum or wood. The high contrasts are then the black and white of the ink and paper.”

            As a child, Chapp was more interested in the stories told through illustrations in books than the words on the page. “I could use my imagination to create my own stories. Now I am a reader. Perhaps not a prolific one, but I read in the evenings before bed. Often it’s non-fiction. I like historical works about events or individuals, artists or other people who had an impact on the world or society.”

December 2014

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Morning, Fires Still Burning I, 2007

Monotype

10 x 11 in

$500

STEVEN CHAPP

December 2007

by Wim Roefs

Steven Chapp paints but he is mostly known as a printmaker of monotypes and intaglio relief prints. He is known particularly for his images of crows, which he sees as observers and at times as stand-ins for humans. Many of Chapp’s crows linger around houses and other buildings, which by themselves, placed in a landscape, are also central in Chapp’s work.

The architectural component of Chapp’s work goes back to his MFA days in the early 1980s at South Carolina’s Clemson University, where the art department was part of the College of Architecture. “I had sworn that architecture was not going to have a profound influence,” Chapp says, even though in high school he had wanted to become an architect.

“I was wrong. Clemson provided an opportunity to study in Italy, where my initial interest in architecture overpowered me again. When you put your hand on a block of stone that was placed there over five hundred years ago, it forces you to reappraise your own moment in this world.”

The experience fed Chapp’s interest in the remnants of human existence. “To me, architectural structures and the spaces they occupy and create are important in their relationship to human frailty. While generations of people pass through and around them, these spaces remain stable.”

In response, Chapp conceived his Guardian series, including Interior Guardians and Several Entrances. His invented, spiritual guardian figures were traditional wooden objects used in Italy to shelve freshly baked bread. Chapp liked the objects’ somewhat animated and personified form with legs and a body. “The guardians are in a sense the spirits of the past protecting the space. They have a threatening appearance, standing tall and emerging from the darker values of these spaces.”

Other work, including Confined Monument #3 and Monument Contained, featured an old, Italian sidewalk urinal that reminded Chapp of a sarcophagus – an above ground stone coffin. In his imagery, the urinals are confined by their architectural surroundings and wrap-around fabric. The prints relate to Chapp’s work with Christo and Jeanne-Claude, whom he assisted in Kansas City covering walkways and in Miami’s Biscayne Bay, surrounding several islands with fabric.

Man-made forms have played a supportive role in Chapp’s imagery since then, often with crows observing the scene. Triangular structures represent strength, bridges symbolize the crossing of troubled paths, and boats deliver humans to another shore in life.

Buildings and walls in Chapp’s current work also symbolize human separation and humanity’s destructive tendencies. “Will our walls and buildings,” Chapp asks, “survive five hundred years for future generations to touch and wonder about?” Chapp’s recent Structural Balance series deals with the human imprint on earth. “I like the unbalanced figure juxtaposed with the structure. It allows for many interpretations.

Morning, Fires Still Burning II, 2007

Monotype

10 x 11 in

$500

Construction Crew III: December 7- 18, 2007

if ART presents at

Gallery 80808/Vista Studios

808 Lady St., Columbia, S.C.

C o n s t r u c t i o n C r e w III:

STEVEN CHAPP – JEFF DONOVAN

JANET ORSELLI – EDWARD RICE

Dec. 7 – 18, 2007

Artists’ Reception: Friday, Dec. 7, 5 – 10 p.m.

Opening Hours:

Saturdays, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Sundays, 1 – 5 p.m.

Weekdays, 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. and by appointment

For its holiday exhibition at Gallery 80808/Vista Studios in Columbia, S.C., if ART presents Construction Crew III, a group exhibition with work by South Carolina artists Steven Chapp, Jeff Donovan, Janet Orselli and Edward Rice. Like the first two if ART Construction Crew exhibitions in December 2005 and 2006, the show consists of two-dimensional and three-dimensional art that has strong constructional or architectural characteristics. The exhibition opens Friday, Dec. 7, with a reception from 5 –10 p.m. and runs through Dec. 18. Opening hours are weekdays, 11 a.m. – 7 p.m., Saturdays, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., and Sundays 1 ­ – 5 p.m. Chapp, Donovan, Orselli and Rice are represented by if ART Gallery, 1223 Lincoln St., (803) 238-2351, where additional works of art by all four artists will be on view.

Chapp will be showing monotypes, intaglio prints, drawings and paintings from the 1980s through last week. Donovan will present several major new ceramic sculptures. Orselli will show reconstructed and reconfigured old baby-carriages-turned-art-objects. Among the paintings Rice will be showing is a new series of barn paintings, in which the same barn structure is painted a dozen times in different colors.

Easley, S.C., native Steven Chapp (b. 1952) is a native of Kansas City, MO. He holds an MFA in printmaking and drawing from Clemson University and a BFA from Appalachian State University. He has shown in galleries and museums throughout the region, including the Greenville County (S.C.) Museum of Art, the Burroughs and Chapin Museum in Myrtle Beach, S.C. and the Pickens County (S.C.) Museum of Art and History. He worked on two projects with artists Christo and Jean Claude, in Kansas City in 1978 and Key Biscayne, Fla., in 1983.

Jeff Donovan (b. 1957) has been a fixture on the Columbia, S.C., art scene for many years. The painter and ceramic sculptor was born in Millford, Del., and studied at the Ringling School of Art in Sarasota, Fla., and the Penland School of Crafts in Penland, N.C. Donovan has exhibited widely throughout South and North Carolina. He is represented in the Mark B. Coplan Collection of South Carolina Art, the prominent ceramic sculpture collection of Ron Porter and Joe Price in Columbia and in the collection of Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina. Donovan also works as an art conservator with ReNewell Fine Art Conservation in Columbia.

Janet Orselli (b. 1954) was born in Columbia, S.C., where she lived until November 2007, when she moved to Mill Spring, N.C. In 1976, she graduated from Clemson Unversity with a degree in psychology. In the 1990s she gradually switched careers from the field of mental health to art. While establishing herself as an artist, she earned an M.F.A. from Clemson in 2001. She was selected for the 2001 and 2004 South Carolina Triennial exhibitions as well as the 2004 traveling exhibition “South Carolina Birds: A Fine Arts Exhibition.” Earlier this year, Orselli has a solo show at O.K. Harris Gallery in New York City. Orselli has done large installations at the Gibbes Museum in Charleston, S.C., the Burroughs & Chapin Museum in Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C. Orselli has received several residencies and fellowships, including at Anderson Ranch in Colorado and in Kaiserslautern, Germany. She is the recipient of a Pollock-Krasner Fellowship.

North Augusta, S.C., native Edward Rice (b. 1953) lives in Augusta, Ga. He is one of the Southeast’s most prominent contemporary painters. Rice’s solo exhibitions include those at the Morris Museum of Art in Augusta, the Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston, S.C., the Greenville County (S.C.) Museum of Art, the Chattahoochee Valley Art Museum in La Grange, Ga., and the McKissick Museum at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, S.C. Rice also was represented in The Story of the South: Art and Culture, 1890 – 2003, the inaugural exhibition at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans. “Edward Rice: Architectural Works, 1978-1998” was published by the Gertrude Herbert Institute of Art in Augusta, Ga., and “Edward Rice: Recent Monotypes,” by the Morris Museum of Art in 2003.

For more information, please contact if ART Gallery owner, Wim Roefs at (803) 238-2351 or wroefs@sc.rr.com