State Art Collection exhibition travels to Myrtle Beach

Elizabeth Keller, Discerning of Spirits

Elizabeth Keller, Discerning of Spirits

The Franklin G. Burroughs-Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum in Myrtle Beach will exhibit 37 works from State Art Collection: Contemporary Conversations Part II and one additional work from Contemporary Conversations Part I. The exhibition will be on display in the Art Museum’s second floor galleries from Sept. 20 through Dec. 27, 2015. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and 1 – 4 p.m. on Sundays. Admission is free.

Curated by Eleanor Heartney, author and contributing editor to Art in America and Artpress, Contemporary Conversations is composed of 118 works by 95 contemporary South Carolina artists. The exhibition is designed to suggest both the quality and diversity of the state’s cultural heritage and includes everything from hard-edge geometric abstraction to surrealist-tinged dreamscapes. Works are inspired by social issues, memory, local and national history, imagination, art of the past and aesthetic theory. Together they reflect the many voices and diverse concerns of South Carolina artists.

The art in Contemporary Conversations is drawn from the State Art Collection, a comprehensive public collection of works by contemporary South Carolina artists. Established in 1967 as one of the first programs of the South Carolina Arts Commission, the State Art Collection is composed of 493 works in a variety of media and styles produced by 287 artists.

Organizations and businesses interested in hosting an exhibition or displaying works from the State Art Collection should contact Harriett Green at (803) 734-8696. In addition to Contemporary Conversations, two other traveling exhibitions are available: The African American Voice and Points of Departure: Vessel Forms from the State Art Collection.

Images: State Art Collection: Contemporary Conversations

About the State Art Collection
The State Art Collection is considered the most comprehensive public collection of works by contemporary South Carolina artists. Established in 1967 as one of the first programs of the South Carolina Arts Commission, the State Art Collection has grown to include 493 works in a variety of media and styles by 287 South Carolina contemporary artists. Small exhibitions featuring work from the collection are organized on a regular basis for rural and isolated areas inside and outside of the state. Works from the State Art Collection are available for loan to art museums, state agencies, and public and private organizations for the purpose of public exhibition or public display. The collection is supported in part by the South Carolina Arts Foundation and First Citizens.