Vermont Blues by Katie Heatley
The City of North Charleston’s Cultural Arts Department is pleased to announce that concurrent exhibitions of photographs by Katie Heatley (Charleston, SC) and sculptures by Charles Wright (Surfside Beach, SC) will be on display at Park Circle Gallery from February 5-March 1, 2025. The artists will host a free public reception at the gallery on Friday, February 7, from 5:00-7:00pm.
Between the Waves – Photographs by Katie Heatley
Between the Waves highlights local, award-winning photographer Katie Heatley’s experiences through images. From intimate portraits to sweeping landscapes, her work explores the dynamic interplay of nature, storytelling, and the human experience. "As a photographer, I am inspired by the belief that life comes in waves—moments of intensity and calm, light and shadow, all flowing together to tell a greater story,” Heatley explains. “I am particularly drawn to fleeting moments of beauty in the natural world and everyday life—those instances where light dances on water or emotion ripples through a scene,” she continues. In each captured image she strives to evoke the emotions that ebb and flow within us, illuminating the beauty in both ourselves and the world around us. Like waves shaped by the pull of light and gravity, Heatley’s photographs aim to capture the fluidity of life, reminding us of the stories hidden in every moment, even the in-between.
Katie Heatley is a portrait and fine art photographer based in Charleston, SC. She earned an associate’s degree in Commercial Graphics/Photography from Trident Technical College in 2010 and currently teaches various classes there as an adjunct professor with the Visual Arts Department. Katie began to pursue fine art photography in 2019. Her work has been exhibited in several group exhibitions and received awards in competitions, including the North Charleston Arts Fest, Charleston Artist Guild Signature Show, Piccolo Spoleto Juried Art Exhibit, MOJA Arts Festival Exhibit, and SC Artisans Center. Learn more about the artist at katieheatley.com.
Avian Gamester by Charles Wright
Wood Nymphs, Hamadryas and Other Gamesters – Wood Sculptures by Charleston Wright
In Wood Nymphs, Hamadryas and Other Gamesters, Charles Wright presents a collection of recent wood sculptures. Through techniques of carving and wood assemblage, he juxtaposes materials such as eggshells, gold leaf, soap stone, and mother of pearl against the natural growth lines and patterns of life in wood. In doing so, he seeks to bring an awareness to the material characteristic and the true inner beauty of wood. This current work, made mostly from trees that grew in the yard of his childhood home, reestablishes his love and connection with woodcarving as a fine art medium, which he first became familiar with as a high school student. “This exhibit is an homage to those trees and the playful gaming spirits that I believe lived in those trees,” Wright explains. Additionally, this exhibition honors his lifelong journey with woodworking.
Retired art professor Charles Allen Wright is a native of Conway, SC, and currently lives in Surfside Beach, SC. He began his studies in art at Coastal Carolina College, receiving a BA in Fine Art from Kent State University, in Kent, Ohio, with a concentration in painting and sculpture. He went on to earn a Master of Fine Arts degree in sculpture from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. His teaching career started at Coastal Carolina in 1985 as an adjunct sculpture professor. He later served as Chair of the Department of Visual Arts at Coastal Carolina University (1994-2005), Professor of Art and the Chair of the Department of Art at Western Illinois University (2007-2017), and the Dean of the College at Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University in Grand Rapids Michigan (2017-2019). Additionally, throughout his career in the arts he served in various roles, including President of the Board of Directors of Horry County Arts and Cultural Events, Board of Directors of the National Council of Arts Administrators, Board of Directors of the Franklin G. Burroughs and Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum in Myrtle Beach, SC, Board of Directors of the College Art Association, Accreditation site evaluator team leader with the National Association of Schools of Art and Design, and member of the American Alliance of Museums and Tri-State Sculptors. His sculptures have been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions and juried competitions throughout the United States. Learn more about the artist at iamasculptor.com.
The Park Circle Gallery is located at 4820 Jenkins Avenue in North Charleston. Admission is free and free street parking is available on Jenkins Avenue in front of the gallery, as well as on the adjacent streets and in parking lots close by. Gallery hours are 10:30am-5:30pm Wednesday-Friday, and Noon-4:00pm on Saturday. For more information about PCG, call 843-637-3565 or email culturalarts@northcharleston.