State Art Collection

Part II of the exhibition has been extended through Dec. 13.

The State Art Collection: Contemporary Conversations traveling exhibition opens Oct. 1, 2009 at the 701 Center for Contemporary Art, located at 701 Whaley Street in Columbia. Curated by Eleanor Heartney, author and contributing editor to Art in America and Artpress, the two-part exhibition includes 118 pieces of artwork from the 448-piece State Art Collection, which is maintained by the South Carolina Arts Commission. Part I runs Oct. 1 – Nov. 1 and Part II runs Nov. 5 – Dec. 13.

The exhibition, composed of works by 95 contemporary South Carolina artists, is designed to suggest both the quality and diversity of the state's cultural heritage. Contemporary Conversations 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. A DVD presentation of a number of additional works from the State Art Collection will run concurrently with the exhibition.

The State Art Collection: Contemporary Conversations is a joint project of the 701 Center for Contemporary Art and the South Carolina Arts Commission. The State Art Collection is supported, in part, by the South Carolina Arts Foundation and Kahn Development Corporation.

Contemporary Conversations:

• Artists
• Gallery
• Activities
• Curator
• Venue
• Press Release
• Home

Exhibitions featuring work from the State Art Collection have included:

• Points of Departure: Vessel Forms
• The African American Voice
• Contemporary Conversations

For more information, please contact Harriett Green (803-734-8762).