CLEMSON – The Clemson Community Supported Art (CSArt) program is launching its eighth season. CSArt is a popular initiative that connects the public with Clemson art students while engaging in a unique art-shopping experience. The program is a new spin on the grassroots “Community Supported Agriculture” farm share concept, which provides fresh produce for investors who buy a “share” of a local farmer’s crop each season.

Clemson’s CSArt program aims to create the same market for fresh, handcrafted artwork. With the purchase of one share, the “shareholder” will receive five different limited edition artworks made by a selection of Clemson student artists, in a specially packaged crate. This season includes one ceramic bowl, two ceramic wall hangings – one sculptural form and one tile- as well as two photographs. Each season’s share is juried by a respected professional in the arts, with this Spring 2020 share selected by Elizabeth Goddard, Executive Director of the Spartanburg Art Museum. Ms. Goddard holds an MFA in Art Education with a concentration in contemporary museum practices. She has over 20 years of experience working in the arts education sector of multiple nonprofit organizations, including serving as Director of Education and later as Curator for the Urban Institute of Contemporary Arts in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

CSArt plans to sell a total of 15 shares this year, costing $200 per share. The CSArt program was begun through a Creative Inquiry team led by Clemson University’s Valerie Zimany, Department Chair and Associate Professor of Art, who researched with her students the strategies and successes of CSArt programs in galleries, art studios and art centers around the country.

“This initiative provides students with an entrepreneurial learning opportunity –many of our graduates go on to work for institutions, non-profits, galleries and more, and the real-world marketing and administration skills they acquire through participating in CSArt program gives a tangible experience to enhance their studio-based portfolio upon graduation,” Zimany said. “For those students who create the limited edition works for the share, the commission is a vote of confidence in the developing quality of their artwork, and a challenge to meet our enthusiastic shareholder’s expectations at our seasonal pickup event.”

Proceeds from the shares supports student scholarship, and allows students to present Clemson’s CSArt program at national conferences. On Wednesday, April 22, 2020 between 10 a.m.–5 p.m. shareholders can meet the artists and pick up shares during the Spring Ceramics Studio Sale at the CSArt Pick-up in the Lee Gallery hallway, located on the first floor of Lee Hall, 323 Fernow Street. To learn more about Clemson CSArt or become a shareholder-member, please visit www.clemson-csa.org and follow the directions under the heading “Purchase a Share.” To get to know this season’s selected student artists, visit the website for highlights and features of the team, “behind the scenes,” and sneak peeks of the artists’ “works in progress.”

With only 15 shares available for purchase, the community is encouraged to sign up now as shares will go quickly.

CLEMSON — Clemson University visual arts students will be on full display this spring in the Clemson University Center for Visual Art’s (CVA) gallery spaces.

The second half of the semester features a calendar full of student exhibitions. Both Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) and Master of Fine Arts (MFA) graduating students present a comprehensive show of artwork weeks prior to graduation. These exhibits are a special time for visual art students, allowing them to reflect on the transformational experience Clemson has provided and choose pieces that best personify the student’s creative achievements.

BFA senior exhibits and MFA thesis exhibits showcase the culmination of year-long research endeavors. Visual Arts students go through a series of critiques aimed at helping build a body of work of the students’ choosing. The public is invited to join the conversation by attending the artist talks, followed by the artists’ receptions. Join the CVA this spring to see the next generation of artists.

MFA Thesis Exhibit – Statera: A Place Between

Master of Fine Arts Thesis Students, Susan Vander Kooi and Carey Morton will present an exhibition illustrating the importance of interconnected relationships between people, landscape, and the natural world. Throughout history, there has been a deep human connection to the earth and recognition of our position within space that contemporary culture is potentially forgetting. This work acknowledges the tangible and intangible attributes of human dependence on, and relationship with, the land, nature, and visceral experience. Utilizing sculpture, the artists blur boundaries, explore the need for balance, and challenge viewer perception.

BFA Senior Exhibit #1 – Take Shape

Apr. 9–13, M–F, 9 a.m.–4:30 p.m., Lee Gallery

Artist Talks and Reception – F, Apr. 13, 6–8 p.m.

Take Shape will feature works by Mariana Aubad, Leah Brazell, McKenize Fletcher, Hannah Gardner, Amanda Hazell, Kara Lerchenfeld, Cody Miller and Anna Rice.

BFA Senior Exhibit #2 – Existence

Apr. 18–25, M–F, 9 a.m.–4:30 p.m., Lee Gallery

Artist Talks and Reception – F, Apr. 20, 6–8 p.m.

Existence will feature works by Lainee Craft, Caroline Herring, Mary Jo May, Zoe Rogers, Michala Stewart, Heather Suttles and Samantha Trivinia.

Additional student artwork currently on display until Apr. 19 is the Next Up Invitational Exhibit, Sikes Hall Showcase, Ground Floor.

Wrapping up the end of spring semester will be the Spring Ceramics Studio Sale and the Community Support Art (CSArt) Share Pick Up, Apr. 25, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. outside of the Lee Gallery along with the Foundation Review, Apr. 27. Students who have completed their Foundation studio courses in the Department of Art at Clemson University will showcase their creative efforts in the Lee Gallery. The showcase is a review of student progress and an opportunity for the Department to share the work of these art students with a local audience. Opening reception will be 6-8 p.m.

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The Center for Visual Arts
The Center for Visual Arts (CVA) at Clemson University is where students, visitors and scholars explore contemporary perspectives in art and culture through research, outreach programming and studio practice. With a mission to engage and render visible the creative process, the CVA is a dynamic intellectual and physical environment where art is created, exhibited and interpreted. It educates through academic research and practice with art at its core, drawing upon varied disciplines to examine critically cultural issues and artistic concerns.

CLEMSON — Between the walls of Lee III, Clemson University students learn the foundations of art and architecture. The award-winning building is home to many of the College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities’ programs – and now it’s home to “Foundation,” a new piece of public art that seeks to inspire students, faculty and visitors alike.

The large-scale installation is already receiving acclaim – it was featured in Archinect earlier this year.

Foundation seduces and seductively persuades you to initially lock into the seemingly estranged golden phenomenon in the center of the room but unbeknownst to you, such an act is purely a masterfully crafted architectural device of deception to allow the graphic which has inconspicuously enveloped you within its two-dimensional domain to take hold.  ~ Anthony Morey, Archinect.

Artists Volkan Alkanoglu and Matthew Au are no strangers to having their work featured on college campuses. Their art projects can be seen at the University of Oregon, Portland State University and Georgia Tech.

Au, a teacher at the Southern California Institute of Architecture, and Alkanoglu, a teacher at Harvard University, have also spent a significant amount of time in architecture buildings across the country. For both of them, Lee III was a blank canvas.

“Lee III is definitely a state-of-the-art facility and a great place to educate creative minds. The building acts almost as a blank canvas waiting to be filled with content and ideas by students creating an inspiring environment. As architects, designers and artists, we are constantly looking for new ideas and forms, but at the end, we are disciplines who produce culture. Lee III is a great facilitator for this endeavor.”

“Foundation” was commissioned by Atelier InSite, Clemson’s public art program. The student-driven Creative Inquiry initiative brings artwork to campus as part of Clemson’s Percent for Art policy. Guided by Thomas Green Clemson’s belief that art is “the magic bonds which unite all ages and nations,” the policy requires that 0.5 percent of the construction value of any new capital project is set aside to be used for public artwork. Students must also be instrumental in the process of commissioning work.

“Working with students to bring art to campus is a uniquely Clemson project,” said David Detrich, an art faculty member who works alongside Joey Manson and Denise Woodward-Detrich to lead Atelier InSite’s efforts. “Each piece goes through a ‘by students, for students’ process. Everything we commission comes to campus through student engagement.”

For many students, participating in a creative inquiry project that’s “by students, for students” sparks their interest. For others, it’s about making their mark on campus.

“To me, getting to be an integral part of the way the Clemson campus evolves is not only a huge honor, but it allows me to contribute something to campus I love with all my heart. It will be around when I come back as an alumnus with my family,” said W. Cody Miller, a visual arts major with a concentration in sculpture.

This is the second project senior Michala Stewart has worked on with Atelier InSite.

“I was drawn to Atelier because I liked the idea of being part of a team of people who were passionate about public art and who got real-life experience implementing it onto our campus,” said Stewart. “Art brings different ideas and disciplines together – it is both creative and intellectual. It’s important to have art on campus because it can be something that connects everyone and prompts valuable discourse.”

Stewart also helped assemble “Illuminated Chroma Wind Trees” earlier this year, which sits in front of Clemson’s Core Campus.

“It is exciting to be a part of this selection process because I get to have a say in the final outcome,” said Stewart. “It’s an honor to be a part of something that isn’t normally in the hands of students. I feel privileged that my opinion is valued and that I get to be a part of the process from start to finish, from the business side to the hands-on side of installing work on campus.”

Fine arts student Samantha Trivinia says Atelier InSite gave her the opportunity to learn another side of the art business.

“I was initially attracted to Atelier InSite because I wanted to find out how exactly an artist went about trying to get a piece in a public area. I had no idea what went into it or where to begin. I was curious to see if public art was a field I would like to pursue after college,” she said. “Atelier is real-world experience; it gives you a chance to contribute to the campus and leave an impact that will be around much longer than you or I.”

Trivinia also sees Atelier as a unique opportunity for students to work with others from a variety of backgrounds and to expand their skill sets.

“It helped me personally with public speaking and presenting to a real audience in a classroom as well as how to work successfully in a group,” said Trivinia.

This is the third large-scale piece since the inception of Atelier InSite in 2012.

The next installation will be located near the Allen N. Reeves Football Complex. Gordon Huether has been commissioned for the piece. His work has been exhibited at museums and galleries and is collected across the United States and internationally. He has received more than 70 public art commissions and more than 175 private commissions.

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The Lee Gallery at the Clemson University Center for Visual Arts and the Arts Center of Clemson will host the popular and unique celebration of the arts with the signature town-gown event “Passport to the Arts” 6-9:30 p.m. March 2.

Now, in its eighth year, Passport to the Arts, which continues to see a sold out crowd year after year, remains to be an exciting and popular “Town and Gown” event. Join the Lee Gallery and the Arts Center of Clemson as they host an evening full of art, entertainers, live music, drinks and exceptional food showcased at four different locations.

This event highlights the incredible local talent housed in the town of Clemson and surrounding area. Clemson celebrates its longtime standing as one of the top town-gown relations according to The Princeton Review. Attendees and area businesses have supported the event that is truly an exceptional evening highlighting the beauty of this nationally renowned relationship.

Attendees receive a “passport” at an announced starting location, and stamp their books at several venues as they travel through Clemson on provided transportation. Many of the pieces are on sale and being debuted for the first time in the four gallery venues. Additional highlights from this year’s event will be the integration of student digital art that celebrates the intersection of art and technology in the Watt Family Innovation Center. All attendees also will have opportunity to engage with the many offerings of the Center such as creating their own virtual reality art through the Immersion Space.

At each new venue, a new batch of local food, music, art, and creativity will be on display. During Passport to the Arts, entertainment is at every turn — even on the shuttle; local musicians greet you with their talents as you travel through Clemson. This innovative combination of art and entertainment has made Passport to the Arts the “Town and Gown” event of the year.

Clemson Area Transit (CAT) offers transportation for the Passport to the Arts tour. All shuttles feature entertainment, making the ride to each venue a destination in itself. The locations this year include The Arts Center of Clemson, the Clemson Area Transit facility, Lee Gallery at the Clemson University Center for Visual Arts and Watt Family Innovation Center.

Click this link see photos from past Passport to the Arts: The following businesses make this event possible: https://www.flickr.com/photos/passporttothearts/albums

Click this link to view the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4ujEQuUSHY

Buy tickets by visiting clemsonpassport.org. For more information, contact Center for Visual Arts Marketing and Public Relations Director, Meredith Mims McTigue, mmims@clemson.edu.

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Current event partners and sponsors

The following businesses make this event possible: Clemson Area Transit, Clemson Downs, Isaaqueena Pediatric Dentistry, PrintSmart, Watt Family Center for Innovation.

“Troubling Beauty” showcases original paintings and hand cut paper collages on view at the Lee Gallery at the Clemson University Center for Visual Arts with a artist talk and closing reception Feb. 8.

Culling through scattered memories of the past and current experiences with her daughters, Yvette Cummings art explores the complicated path of youth, beauty, femininity and transitions from childhood into self-awareness.

“Yvette’s work is provocative and dynamic referencing human development in a world filled with paradoxes and complexities,” said Director Woodward-Detrich.

Her use of strong and brightly colored backdrops and decorative motifs draws the viewer into a world that is both overpowering and disarming. Juxtaposed to the backgrounds are innocent exchanges between various figures that evoke a tenuous uncertainty. The relationship between these moments presented in the work and the artist skill at painting, present complex and emotional paradoxes for the viewer.

“This body of work is perfect to showcase on a university campus as it poses important questions about society, social expectations and boundaries for all to ponder,” said Woodward-Detrich.

Originally, from Grand Rapids, Michigan, Cummings currently lives in Conway, South Carolina where she teaches at Coastal Carolina University. She received a master’s degree in Fine Arts from the University of Cincinnati’s School of Design, Art, Architecture and Planning, where she was the recipient of the Wolfstein Travel Fellowship to Spain. She taught as an adjunct professor at the University of South Carolina (USC) Department of Art in Columbia, S.C. and was awarded the Stephen J. Dalton Teacher of the Year from USC in 2011.

The commitment of the Lee Gallery at the Clemson University Center for Visual Arts continues to support the university’s Clemson Forward strategic plan to provide educational activities that expose students to research through artistic means.

There will be an artist gallery talk and closing reception beginning at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 8. The artist talk and reception are free and open the public. For more information about this exhibit, contact Lee Gallery Director, Denise Woodward-Detrich at woodwaw@clemson.edu.

The Lee Gallery at the Clemson University Center for Visual Arts (CVA) first art exhibit of the fall semester focuses on the importance of striking a sustainable balance between nature and the current global consumer culture with Pam Longobardi’s “Drifters Project,” on display Aug. 21-Sept. 27.

Plastics are integrated with every aspect of our lives from the smallest little toy to life sustaining medical equipment and every other place in-between.  Artist Pam Longobardi utilizes these discards to make installations that explore our global culture through plastics that have been transformed by the ocean then collected, documented and re-presented by the artist into the gallery context.

“I am interested in the collision between nature and global consumer culture. Ocean plastic is a material that can unleash unpredictable dynamics,” Longobardi said. “I am interested in it in particular, as opposed to all garbage in general, because of what it reveals about us as a global culture and what it reveals about the ocean as a type of cultural space, as well as a giant dynamic engine of life and change.  As a product of culture that exhibits visibly the attempts of nature to reabsorb and regurgitate this invader, ocean plastic has profound stories to tell.”

The “Drifters Project” began in 2006 after Longobardi encountered mountains of plastic being deposited on remote islands in Hawaii by the ocean. Since that time she has removed thousands of pounds of material for re-examination. Visitors to the Lee Gallery will experience various installations along with select paintings and drawings.

This innovative art collaboration is part of the Lee Gallery at the Clemson University Center for Visual Arts (CVA) commitment to support the institutions 2020 ClemsonForward Strategic Plan to provide educational activities that expose students to research through artistic means. This type of exposure encourages dialogue surrounding supporting a sustainable environment.

The Lee Gallery at the Clemson University CVA will be open for this exhibit 9 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays. It is located in 1-101 Lee Hall, 323 Fernow St. There will be artist talk followed by a reception on Aug. 25, 5:30 p.m. The exhibition, artist talk and reception are free to the public because of the generous support given to the Center for Visual Arts. For more information about this exhibit, contact Lee Gallery Director, Denise Woodward-Detrich at woodwaw@clemson.edu. Visit www.clemson.edu/cva to learn about exhibitions in the Lee Gallery as well as other Center for Visual Arts activities and events.

The Ceramics studio in the department of art at Clemson University will hold its Spring Ceramics Studio sale and Creative Inquiry Community Support Art (CSArt) Pick Up on 10 a.m.-5 p.m. April 26 in the Lee Hallway in front of the Lee Gallery.

The popular annual Spring Ceramics Studio sale is a fundraiser that supports students to travel to the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts conference as well as other professional activities which help further student research and collaborations.

The sale showcases a wide selection of both functional and sculptural artwork by ceramics undergraduate and graduate students, and faculty. In addition, CSArt Spring 2017 Shareholders are invited to pick up their shares, meet the artists and celebrate another successful semester of student artwork.

The annual Ceramic Bowl Sale will be held again in fall 2017, in time for the holidays.

CLEMSON — Clemson University’s National Print and Drawing exhibition, “Adaptable: Facing the Future,” opens Thursday in the Lee Gallery and will be available to the public through March 15. The juror and awards presentation and reception will be 6–8 p.m. Feb. 17.

Since the beginning of our time on Earth we have responded to the impact of change in every aspect of our human experience. In the ever-expanding social, technological, biological and digital era, change is taking place at unprecedented speeds while the world is becoming a much smaller place. The 2017 Clemson National Print and Drawing exhibition explores change in a wide range of approaches to unpacking this idea.

Consisting of 62 works by 59 artists from across the United States, the biennial show was juried by faculty emerita Sydney A. Cross. More than 340 images were entered by 118 artists. Cross received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Northern Arizona University and her Master of Fine Arts from Arizona State University. She taught printmaking at Clemson University and she was awarded the title of Distinguished Alumni Professor. Always professionally active in her field, she held the office of president for the Southern Graphics Council, the largest printmaking society in North America.

The works will be on view from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday. For more information, contact Lee Gallery Director Denise Woodward-Detrich at woodwaw@clemson.edu.

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Participating Artists
AWG, Miguel Aragon, Todd Arsenault, Anne Beidler, Mark Bischel, Kelsey Bledsoe, Cynthia Brinich-Langlois, Jessica Burke, Karen Brussat Butler, Anne Chesnut, Allison Conley, Jacob Cotton, Andrew DeCaen, Darcy Edwin, Katie Efstathiou, Beth Fein, Craig Fisher, Kendra Foster, Karen Gallagher-Iverson, Oscar Gillespie, Brian Gillis, Sharon Harper, Yuji Hiratsuka, Melinda Hoffman, Andy Holliday, John Holmgren, Nick Conbere, Zach Horn, Richard Hricko, Jayne Reid Jackson, Joyce Jewell, Brian Johnson, Matthew Kluber, Lauren Lake, Treelee MacAnn, William Mathie, Juliet Mattila, Corrin Smithson McWhirter, Johanna Mueller, Nick Osetek, Andy Owen, Caroline Owen, Ethan Peeler, Aaron Pennington, Johnny Plastini, Haley Prestifilippo, Adrian Rhodes, Rachel Rinker, Nicholas Ruth, Emmet Sandberg, Blake Sanders, Mark Sisson, Emily Stokes, Lynda Harwood Swenson, Michael Weigman, Art Werger, Linda Whitney, Chris Williford, Jackson Zorn

The Lee Gallery
The Lee Gallery at the Clemson University Center for Visual Arts provides the university and surrounding community with access to regional, national and international artists. Through a variety of exhibitions and special events, the galleries at Clemson University are dedicated to teaching, providing a space to display student and faculty research and serving the community, as well as providing internship opportunities for undergraduate art majors. Exhibitions held in Lee Gallery examine contemporary issues that underscore academic programs and serve the broader mission of the university.  Visitors to campus can enjoy exhibits showcasing undergraduate, graduate and faculty work as well as nationally and internationally recognized artists. The Lee Gallery maintains exhibition spaces at College of Architecture Arts and Humanities Dean’s Gallery in Strode Tower, Sikes Hall showcase space, the Brooks Center for Performing Arts lobby showcase, and the Acorn Gallery in Lee Hall II. The Lee Gallery is located in Lee Hall I on Clemson University’s campus. Gallery Hours are 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and select Fridays for special events.