Riding on the tail of the Georgia O’Keeffe: Her Carolina Story exhibit, the Columbia Museum of Art’s newest exhibit showcases approximately 30 works of art by women across the state of South Carolina.
Independent Spirits: Women Artists of South Carolina is a strong collection of impressive works that can be found in the Palmetto State. The theme of the exhibit is to promote a woman’s place in the art world and emphasize the role that women will play in the future of the arts in South Carolina.
“[We wanted] to recognize Georgia O’Keeffe’s Carolina story,” said Joelle Ryan-Cook, the deputy director and director of external affairs at the CMA. “That iconic American artist period had an amazing epiphany and pivotal change in South Carolina. For us, [it was] an opportunity to think about those women working in South Carolina that exemplify that spirit of innovation ... independently doing their work the way they want to do it, no matter what other influences want to shift or change that.”
And the collection does just that. Ranging from rich paintings to intricate sculptures, the pieces truly reflect the growing role women have in telling their own story through art, especially in the South.
“We don’t think of South Carolina as the center of the art world; we think of New York and Chicago and Los Angeles,” Ryan-Cook said. “There are some amazing, accomplished artists here in South Carolina ... I think a young woman artist can look at this for inspiration here at home. There are successful counterparts; there are mentors that can be out there. There are people that have successfully accomplished working as an artist. In South Carolina, you can do it.”
A great deal of the artwork on display has been created by Columbia’s own. “Ready for Burial,” a 69-by-42-inch embroidery of a vintage, black lace dress sewn onto an old bed sheet, is a standout from Columbia local, Susan Lenz. Bri Kinard, a USC graduate with a Bachelors of Fine Arts from the School of Visual Art and Design, has a large, colorful sculpture hanging from the ceiling, titled “Fear Mongers — Extracted.”
“I think being independent, to a degree, is part of being Southern — we’re fiercely independent,” said Mary Bentz Gilkerson, another Columbia local with artwork in the show. “We don’t like people telling us what to do. And certainly, growing up as a Southern woman, being independent and making my own decisions sometimes wasn’t always encouraged in our culture.”
While each artwork has its own sense of individuality to it, the collection as a whole is brought together by the overarching theme of independence — a deeply ingrained part of the Southern identity.
“That’s really what we wanted to do,” Ryan-Cook said. “To say, ‘Hey, there’s some pretty incredible stuff going on in South Carolina.’”