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December Issue 2006
City Gallery at Waterfront Park in Charleston, SC, Offers Works by Mary Walker
The Coastal Community Foundation (CCF) presents the exhibit, Carolina Umbra, a retrospective exhibition of works by Mary Walker, this year's recipient of the CCF's Donna and Mike Griffith Lowcountry Artist's Fund Award. The exhibit will be presented at the City Gallery at Waterfront Park from Dec. 1 through Jan. 21, 2007.
Each year, the Griffiths award a $5,000 grant to one local artist who, like Walker, finds their inspiration here in the Lowcountry. In her series, Carolina Umbra, Walker depicts the chaos and tragedy left in the wake of Hurricane Hugo, which was inspired by a poem by South Carolina Poet Laureate, Marjorie Wentworth. For this series, which will be accompanied by Wentworth's poem, Walker wanted "to translate the poem's seven stanzas into images depicting the aftermath of the hurricane." The exhibition will also include a look at several of Walker's series, which were inspired by various literary works from Dante's Inferno to King Lear.
In the words of Curator Catherine Heitz New, "Walker has long used literary works as the inspiration for her series. This [choice] stems from her own desire to further understand the subject, citing that this work is as much about her own personal meditation and intellectual journey as the creation of the work itself."
Walker claims that "literature and opera have always inspired [her] because [she wants her] art to deal with human concerns." Additionally, Walker finds that studying other artists, such as the Impressionist painters Manet and Degas, as well as Renaissance artists like Verrochio, Donatello, and Masaccio, offer invaluable resources.
Her media includes gouache, watercolor, conte crayon, and some collage, and Walker states that "the combination of materials refers to the different elements in the landscape."
Walker attended the Art Students League in New York and continued her education with post-graduate courses at the College of Charleston and the New York Academy of Art.
The City Gallery at Waterfront Park is owned by the City of Charleston and managed by the Office of Cultural Affairs.
For more information check our SC Institutional
Gallery listings, call the gallery at 843/958-6484 or e-mail at
(citygallery@ci.charleston.sc.us).
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