First group of Biennial winner display their pieces.
Thursday night displayed an abundance of artistic talent in Columbia, with numerous galleries, venues and events. Among the standout artists, one of the most unique displays of local talent was the Biennial 2013 at the 701 Center for Contemporary Art.
The collection was the product of 25 South Carolina artists who were picked from a field of 123 entries by a panel of art experts. Thursday’s exhibit featured 13 of the 25 selected.
“They were picked to show together, because they were all so different,” said Sheldon Paschal, the center’s executive director. “All types are represented.”
Individual displays included large-scale wall decorations made from baby wipes, interactive pieces and sculptures.
Behind each installation was an individual story that derived from a personal experience or recent feelings, like the unique wooden vases of USC art instructor Robert Lyon. His pieces of perfectly hollowed wood were adorned with specifically placed pencils, erasers and screws.
“I’m also a beekeeper, and one say I noticed that a pencil has 6 sides just like a honeycomb,” Lyon said. “So I shaved down and grouped the pencils to give the same effect.”
This pencil creation was just the start of his wooden creations. Lyon said that during the time of sculpting, he lost his mother, who before her death was losing her memory.
“The pencils pointing inward represent that the pencils can’t write like they’re supposed to, just like you can’t write your memory,” he said. “And the erasers represent the erasing the memory.”
Rock Hill artist Caroline Rust drew the inspiration for her widely different pieces from femininity found in 16th century tapestries. Each piece represents a sense, like touch in paper-mache, acrylic, embroidery and gloves and one of the most interesting pieces of intuition.
“It looks like just a door, but when you look through the peep-hole, you see feminine intuition,” Rust said, referring to the silhouettes in a decorated living room in the backlit hole.
“This night has been a great representation of the artists’ work,” Paschal said. “But this is just the half of it.”
The current exhibits will be available for viewing at 701 Whaley St. until Oct. 20, and part two of Biennial 2013 will display the remaining 12 chosen artists