Human/Nature Group Exhibition

Opening January 6, Human/Nature, highlights new work by four artists from the Columbia, South Carolina area. The exhibit is curated by Virginia Scotchie, ceramic artist and area head of ceramics at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina. She holds a B.F.A. in ceramics from UNC-Chapel Hill and in 1985 completed her Master of Fine Arts at Alfred University in New York. Virginia exhibits her work extensively throughout the United States and abroad, and has received numerous awards including the Sydney Meyer Fund International Ceramics Premiere Award from the Shepparton Museum in Victoria, Australia. She has lectured internationally on her work and been an Artist in Residence in Taiwan, Italy, Australia and the Netherlands. Her clay forms reside in many public and private collections and reviews about her work appear in prestigious ceramic publications.

Virginia Scotchie - "Recent work has dealt with the relationships of whole forms to that of their components.  The act of taking apart and putting back together has contributed to the accumulation of a personal library of fragmented images.  My current interest is in the exploration of new forms derived from rearranging fragments of disparate dissected objects. With this new body of work I have continued my on-going visual investigation of man-made and natural objects. Usually these consist of small things; ordinary in many ways, but possessing a visual quirkiness that pulls me to them.  In some cases I am not familiar with the particular purpose, function or origin of the original object.  Often this lack of information allows me to see the object in a clearer light."

Victoria Lent -  "Originating from central upstate New York. I let my rural roots guide the way I structure my artistic work. I grew up in a small, close-knit community of townships that relied on one another to thrive. I have worked in many three-dimensional materials over the years, first in steel and bronze and then falling in love with ceramics as an undergrad. After taking ceramics, pottery, and sculpture classes at SUNY Oneonta, I interned at C&P Studios in Afton for one summer. Through this opportunity, I was inspired to continue to get my master’s degree at the University of South Carolina. My home influences the layers of my work in pottery and sculpture. Thinking of how the land overlaps with the people and the connections the people make with each other inspires me and drives my curiosity for this work. Each piece has its own individuality but comes together to create a community of work."

Patrick Burke - "Regardless the amount of research on the human psyche, we are unable to completely understand mental illnesses. This misunderstanding often creates negative stigmas. Through my artwork, I am breaking down those stigmas, bringing awareness and voicing the realities of life with a mental illness. I am conveying the raw emotions of people who are affected by them. Through this process, I am encouraging people to sympathize. People aren’t bipolar, people have bipolar disorder. People aren’t schizophrenic, people have schizophrenia. People aren’t depressed, people have depression. Let’s label less and commiserate more. We are all human beings."

Sean Clute - "As we engage the world around us, there are moments that will test our character.  I look to capture that honest response where our true personality comes to surface.  To be able to get this response, I surround these figures in a scene that makes them respond in a specific way.  The scene pressures the personality and encapsulates the figures in this moment in time.  This subsequently reveals what is at the core of each person.  I break down their psychology to project an honest response to the scene.  Just as an actor would dissolve the nuances of a character, I will give cause to this response.  This gives each character I make an individual piece of my soul."

Exhibit will be on view January 6 - February 17, 2023. Opening reception is January 6, 5-7 pm and is free to the public.