Exhibition Period Sept. 11 – October 25, 2015

Artists’ Reception, Fri., Sept. 11, 7 – 9 pm.

Reception Admission: members, free; non-members, $5 suggested donation

701 CCA

Part I of the 701 CCA South Carolina Biennial 2015 will open on Friday, September 11, 2013, at 701 Center for Contemporary Art in Columbia, S.C., with an artists’ reception from 7 – 9 p.m. Part I will present half of the South Carolina artists selected for the Biennial by an independent jury. The other half will be presented in the exhibition’s Part II, which will run from November 5 – December 20, 2015, with an opening reception on Thursday, November 12, 7 – 9 p.m. The exhibition catalogue will be presented during the reception for Part II. 

Biennial Part I includes work by current 701 CCA artist in residence, Kristy Bishop, of Goose Creek. The 25 artists included in the Biennial 2013 were selected from 101 submissions by South Carolina artists. The jury panel making the selections consisted of Peter Plagens, Lia Newman and Frank Martin. Plagens, based in New York City, is an artist and one the country’s most prominent art critics. 

Newman is the director and curator of the Davidson College art galleries in Davidson, N.C. Martin is an art historian at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, S.C. 

“The 2015 Biennial will … prove to be long on genuine expressionism, and thankfully short on art-world trendiness,” Plagens wrote in his juror’s statement. There is, Plagens, added “little shock-for-shock’s-sake, and no ‘zombie formalism,’ i.e., deliberately abject abstract art.” “For better or worse,” Plagens wrote, “I didn’t see much ‘regional’ character in the artists we selected … Does this mean that artists in the 2015 Biennial are operating with eyes more attuned to the outside art world than to the vicissitudes of South Carolina culture? Likely, yes, although there remains a third category which is supposed to be the prime mover in determining what artists produce: personal expression that doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with the artist’s geographic surroundings or the art-magazine version of the greater art world. At the risk of indulging in a cliché about Southern culture, the 2015 Biennial contains a goodly amount of that.”

The 701 CCA South Carolina Biennial 2015 is a survey exhibition of work by contemporary South Carolina artists. The Biennial is an initiative of 701 CCA and was first held in 2011. The goals of the Biennial exhibition are to provide a venue to showcase recent work reflecting local, regional and national trends and issues influencing contemporary artists living and working in South Carolina and to increase awareness and appreciation of the artistic contributions and accomplishments of the state’s visual artists. The project draws on the breadth of the visual arts community by providing a multi-media juried statewide exhibition opportunity every two years. 

Artists working in all media and styles were encouraged to apply in order to reflect the stylistic and cultural diversity of art produced in the state. Artists had to be a current resident of South Carolina.

Artists in Part II, November 5 – December 20: 

Aldwyth (Hilton Head), Brant Barrett (Surfside Beach), David Boatwright (Charleston), Michaela Pilar Brown (Columbia), Yvette Cummings (Conway), Stacey Davidson (Rock Hill), Lauren Greenwald (Columbia), Herb Parker (Charleston), Kristi Ryba (Charleston), Lee Sipe (Columbia), Enid Williams (Greenville), David Yaghjian (Columbia). 

Please submit further inquiries to wroefs@sc.rr.com or call 701 CCA board chair Wim Roefs at 803.238-2351.

About 701 Center for Contemporary Art 

701 CCA is a non-profit visual arts center that promotes understanding, appreciation and enjoyment of contemporary art, the creative process and the role of art and artists in the community. The center also encourages interaction between visual and other art forms. 701 CCA is located at 701 Whaley Street, 2nd Floor, Columbia, SC 29201.  During exhibitions, hours are Wed, 11–8; Thu-Fri, 11-5; Sat, 11-5; Sun, 1-5. For more information, visit www.701cca.org.