South Carolina artist Aldwyth named a finalist for 1858 Prize

Hilton Head Island artist Aldwyth is one of six finalists (and the only South Carolina finalist) for the 1858 Prize for Contemporary Southern Art presented by the Gibbes Museum of Art and Society 1858. Awarded annually with a cash prize of $10,000, the 1858 Prize for Contemporary Southern Art acknowledges an artist whose work demonstrates the highest level of artistic achievement in any media, while contributing to a new understanding of art in the South. More than 275 artists from 11 Southern states submitted applications for the prize.

Aldwyth received the 2015 Elizabeth O’Neill Verner Governor’s Award for the Arts in the Individual Artist category.

The six artists were selected by a distinguished panel of judges including Charles Ailstock, Society 1858 Board member; Jamieson Clair, Society 1858 Board President; Sonya Clark, artist and 2014 Prize winner; Miranda Lash, Curator of Contemporary Art, The Speed Art Museum; Cary Levine, Associate Professor, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Mark Sloan, Director and Chief Curator, Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art;  and Pam Wall, Curator of Exhibition at the Gibbes Museum of Art.

“Seeing the prize grow this year—not only in the number of applications, but also in the level of diversity and range of artistic medium—has been like a dream come true for Society 1858,” says Society 1858 President Jamieson Clair.

The winner of the 1858 Prize will be announced on Sept. 17 during an event hosted by Society 1858 and the Gibbes Museum of Art.

2015 Short List Bios

Aldwyth
South Carolina artist Aldwyth has worked in relative seclusion for several decades. She creates intricate collages and assemblages, often monumental in scale, from found objects, appropriated images, text, and other elements. Aldwyth was recently honored with a major one-person traveling exhibition organized by the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art at the College of Charleston.

Andrea Keys Connell
Sculptor Andrea Keys Connell creates figurative works that challenge conventional notions of monuments, statuary, and figurines. Using clay with other mixed media, her work has a strong narrative and emotive quality. Keys Connell lives in Richmond, Virginia where she serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Craft/Material Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Kevin Jerome Everson
Kevin Jerome Everson’s films utilize both scripted and documentary footage to examine the everyday lives of working class African Americans and other people of African descent. A prolific filmmaker, Everson has created both feature-length and short films characterized by a subtle, poetic quality. His work is included in the collection of the Whitney Museum of American Art, and is currently on view in the museum’s inaugural exhibition America is Hard to See.

George Jenne
George Jenne is a video artist who combines moving images with the spoken word to create uniquely narrative films. His work explores the inner psyche of his characters, revealing the complex ideas and emotions underlying each individual. A native of Richmond, Virginia, Jenne currently lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Deborah Luster
Luster, who lives and works in New Orleans, Louisiana, turned to photography as a means to cope with the murder of her mother. She has created thousands of powerful, haunting portraits of prisoners housed in Louisiana. Her recent body of work captures desolate landscapes in New Orleans where murders have occurred.

Ebony G. Patterson
The work of mixed-media artist Ebony G. Patterson investigates the complex relationships between gender, politics, beauty, race, and ritual in contemporary Jamaican culture. Her artistic practice combines painting, textiles, and installation work, often in large scale. A native of Jamaica, Patterson lives and works in Lexington, Kentucky, where she serves as an Associate Professor at the University of Kentucky.

Society 1858
Society 1858 is a group of dynamic young professionals who support the Gibbes Museum of Art with social and educational programs tailored for up-and-coming art patrons. Membership to Society 1858 is open to any member of the Gibbes Museum of Art. Society 1858 takes its name from the year that the Carolina Art Association was established. Although the Gibbes Museum of Art opened its doors in 1905, the museum’s art collection began in 1858. Society 1858 aims to continue the strong legacy of art appreciation in Charleston. Members of Society 1858 have access to private exhibition previews and receptions, invitations to social events throughout the year, and free or reduced admission to Society 1858’s programs.

Gibbes Museum of Art 
Established as the Carolina Art Association in 1858, the Gibbes Museum of Art opened its doors to the public in 1905. In the fall of 2014, the Gibbes temporarily closed for major renovations and will reopen its doors in the spring of 2016. The renovation project is designed to showcase the museum’s collection, provide visitors with a history of American art from the early colonial era to the present, and engage the public with a center for education, artist studios, lecture and event space, a museum café, and store. During the renovation the museum will offer programs such as the Insider Art Series, Art With a Twist, Art of Healing, events including the Art of Design and annual Gibbes on the Street Party, and educational offerings such as Art to Go and Eye Spy Art. Highlights of the Gibbes permanent collection can be viewed on Google Art Project at www.googleartproject.com.

Via: Gibbes Museum of Art

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