The Gibbes Museum of Art has some exciting programming happening in the month of January to kick off the new year. See below for events and programs happening next month.
Programming:
Improvised: A Hip Hop Experience, Jan. 7, 2022 6 – 8 p.m.
Many artists are influenced by the music of their time, and in the case of the abstract expressionists of the mid-20th century, that music was Jazz. Improvisational and expressive, it inspired Jackson Pollack and Romare Bearden alike. At the Gibbes, we see Hip Hop as an extension of that improvisational tradition and are excited to partner with on air personality Kris Kalyn to host Improvised: A Hip Hop Experience that will have local and emerging Hip Hop artists responding to works in Romare Bearden: Abstraction to close out the exhibition on display at the museum.
Price: $35 adult | $20 student/faculty with valid ID
Literary Gibbes Book Club Discussion, Jan. 15, 2022 10:30 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Join the Gibbes for a book club-style discussion of Luncheon of the Boating Party, a novel by Susan Vreeland inspired by Light Effects: The French Impressionists, an exhibition currently on display at the Gibbes highlighting the works of French artists from the Impressionism period. Luncheon of the Boating Party, like August Renoir's painting of the same name, illuminates Paris in the summer of 1880. The hybrid discussion will take place in person in the Education Center on the first floor of the Gibbes and virtually. Stop by Harken Café beforehand to pick up a handcrafted beverage and morning pastry for 10% off with your Gibbes Membership card.
Oil Painting Workshop with past Visiting Artist Francis Sills, Jan. 22, 2022 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Instructor Francis Sills, a past visiting artist at the Gibbes and an adjunct teacher of drawing and painting at the College of Charleston, will lead a workshop exploring how color can function as both shape and light. Students will work with both paper collage and oil paint through an analysis and transcription of Master paintings, and the student will create a landscape painting based on one of their own photographs. Please email Erin at eglaze@gibbesmuseum.org to be placed on the waiting list if a spot becomes available.
New special exhibitions:
Fighters for Freedom: William H. Johnson Picturing Justice, Jan. 21 – Aug. 7, 2022
William H. Johnson's Fighters for Freedom series is a tribute to African American activists, scientists, teachers, performers and international heads of state working to bring peace to the world. On view at the Gibbes from Jan. 21 – Aug. 7, 2022, this exhibition is the first-ever presentation of this series in Johnson's home state of South Carolina. Fighters for Freedom presents well-known Fighters such as Harriet Tubman, George Washington Carver, Marian Anderson and Mahatma Gandhi, as well as some lesser-known individuals whose equally important determination and sacrifice have been eclipsed over time.
A New Deal: Artists at Work, Jan. 21 – Aug. 7, 2022
The Federal Art Project was formed under President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's ambitious Works Progress Administration (WPA) programs that sent millions of unemployed Americans back to work during the Great Depression, including more than 5,000 artists. The Federal Art Project afforded opportunities to a diverse group of artists, including women, African Americans and recent immigrants, resulting in a collection of artwork intended to uplift the national spirit and encourage creativity in the face of great challenges. The Gibbes is one of a select group of institutions across the country that houses a historic collection of Federal Art Project prints.
Ongoing special exhibitions:
Romare Bearden: Abstraction, Oct. 15, 2021 – Jan. 9, 2022
The Gibbes Museum of Art presents Romare Bearden: Abstraction, a major traveling exhibition organized by the American Federation of Arts (AFA) and the Neuberger Museum of Art of Purchase College, SUNY. On view at the Gibbes until Jan. 9, 2022, the exhibition presents important yet rarely seen works from American artist Romare Bearden's prolific career. Bearden, born in Charlotte, N.C., is recognized as one of the most creative and original artists of the 20th century. The traveling exhibition, which debuts at the Gibbes before presentations at venues across the country, will be on display in the museum's Galleries 8 & 9 on the museum's third floor
Light Effects: The French Impressionists, Sept. 3, 2021 – Feb. 20, 2022
The works of French masters Edgar Degas, Paul Cézanne, Auguste Renoir, Paul Gauguin and others drawn to the short loose brushstrokes, bright colors, and focus on modern life that became the language of Impressionism are highlighted in this exhibition. Featuring artworks from private collections located across the country, including Charleston, this show is part of the Gibbes collectors’ exhibition series and is organized with the assistance of The Fine Art Group.
