Art In Sight | South Carolina Arts Commission

Art in Sight is designed to promote awareness of the opportunities for South Carolinians to enjoy the State Art Collection in their communities.

Then-Chairman Bud Ferillo of the South Carolina Arts Commission conceived of Art in Sight. “The State Art Collection is a gem as dynamic and diverse as the span of history it represents. It’s one of our most valuable cultural assets and chronicles the history of art development in South Carolina.” A campaign and logo (right) were unveiled in 2009.

The State Art Collection has grown to include 466 works in a variety of media and styles by 288 artists. Over its 50-plus-year history, the collection has been featured in numerous exhibitions across the state, nation, and even internationally.

Ferillo believed that the State Art Collection has something that will appeal to everyone. “It includes everything from paintings and sculpture to baskets, fiber and Catawba pottery. It includes film, photography, installations and graphics—all by artists who live or have lived in South Carolina.”

Image shown: Gina Gilmour | Rescue | 1985 | oil on canvas | 52″ x 52″ (triptych, each panel)

Where You Can See It

The Commission board of directors and our partners at the S.C. Arts Foundation want to provide more opportunities for South Carolinians to enjoy the State Art Collection in their communities. Works from the collection are loaned to art museums, state agencies, and public and private organizations, and the collection is available for displays and exhibitions.*

Important update

South Carolina State Art Collection acquisitions, exhibitions, and loans of its works are on pause until further notice. The South Carolina Arts Commission is taking time to caretake and thoughtfully evaluate how it can best serve constituents through the program.

For more information, please contact Arts Industry Director La Ruchala Murphy (803.734.8762 | lmurphy@arts.sc.gov).

Selections may currently be viewed at the following state agencies:

South Carolina Arts Commission (1026 Sumter St., Suite 200, Columbia)
Administrative Law Court (Edgar A. Brown Building, 1205 Pendleton St., Columbia)
Division of Technology Operations Data Center (4430 Broad River Rd., Columbia)
Forestry Commission (55 Broad River Rd., Columbia)
House of Representatives (Solomon Blatt Building, 1105 Pendleton St., Columbia)
Human Affairs Commission (1026 Sumter St., Columbia)
USC Institute for Mind & Brain (1800 Gervais St., Columbia)
Medical University of South Carolina (3 Radcliff Place, Charleston)
Revenue & Fiscal Accountability (Rembert Dennis Building, 1000 Assembly St., Columbia)
South Carolina ETV (1041 George Rogers Blvd., Columbia)
Technical College of the Lowcountry (New River Campus, 100 Community College Dr., Bluffton)

And at these regional partners:

South Arts (1800 Peachtree St. NW, Atlanta, GA)
Central Carolina Community Foundation (2142 Boyce St., 4th floor, Columbia)

Past Major Exhibitions

As of summer 2021, State Art Collection acquisitions, exhibitions, and loans of its works are on pause for FY22 as the South Carolina Arts Commission takes time for caretaking and to thoughtfully evaluate how it can best serve constituents through the program.

With works by African American artists who are among the state’s best-known and widely celebrated practitioners, The African American Voice includes 40 pieces of artwork from the State Art Collection completed by 25 African American artists.

Among them are “outsider” artists Sam Doyle, Leroy Marshall, Richard Burnside and Dan Robert Miller, and academically trained artists with established careers such as Leo Twiggs, Arthur Rose, Tarleton Blackwell, MacArthur Goodwin, Jesse Guinyard, Joseph Gandy, Terry K. Hunter, Larry Jordan, Larry Lebby, Robert Spencer, and Winston Wingo. The sweetgrass basket tradition is represented by Mary Jackson, the best known practitioner working in this craft, and by Linda Blake, Marguerite Middleton, and Elizabeth Kinlaw. Artists such as Merton Simpson, Beverly Buchanan, Sheri Moore Change, Maxwell Taylor and Connie Floyd are all South Carolina-connected artists who no longer reside in the state.

The exhibition was created in response to the continued requests for works by African American artists from the State Art Collection.

Download a detailed list of the complete exhibition here.
A re-imagined Volkswagen engine, a mousetrap with an egg, a kimono cabinet, a life-size marionette-like figure and a modern day Annunciation scene illustrate an array of works found in Pig Tales, Blackberry Winter, and the Cabinet of Curiosities.

These works and others were assembled for the 150th Anniversary of the South Carolina State Fair. Artists who exhibited in the State Fair’s annual exhibition dating back to the early 1960’s, works that reflect aspects of fair culture, and some iconic pieces from the State Art Collection were featured in the Rosewoods Building.

Download a detailed list of the complete exhibition here.

Art In Sight: Exhibitions

Art in Sight is designed to promote awareness of the opportunities for South Carolinians to enjoy the State Art Collection in their communities.

Where You Can See It

Important update

Selections may currently be viewed at the following state agencies:

And at these regional partners:

Past Major Exhibitions

The African American Voice

With works by African American artists who are among the state’s best-known and widely celebrated practitioners, The African American Voice includes 40 pieces of artwork from the State Art Collection completed by 25 African American artists.

Contemporary Conversations Part I

Contemporary Conversations Part II

South Carolina State Fair 2019