Monday, April 25, 2005

Carl Blair: The Verner Award Celebration Exhibition: April 29- May 27, 2005

Lewis & Clark Gallery
and
if ART of Columbia, International Fine Art Services

present

CARL BLAIR
The Verner Award Celebration Exhibition

April 29 – May 27, 2005


Artist’s Reception: Thur May 5, 5:00 – 8:00 p.m.

Artist gouache demonstrations: Thu May 5, 10:00 a.m. & 2:00 a.m.

Viewing hours: Mon–Fri: 9:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m., Sat 9:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.
or by appointment

For more information, contact Wim Roefs at if ART: (803) 799-7170 – wroefs@sc.rr.com


Carl Blair, this year’s winner of South Carolina’s Elizabeth O’Neil Verner Award for Lifetime Achievement, will be exhibiting in May at Lewis & Clark Gallery in Columbia. The gallery organized the exhibition with if ART, International Fine Art Services, a new private art dealer in Columbia that also provides art consulting and curatorial services. The artist reception is May 5 from 5:00 – 8:00 p.m., the day after Blair will receive the Verner Award at the State House in Columbia.

On May 5, Blair also will give two demonstrations in the use of gouache at Lewis & Clark. The demonstrations are open to the public. The gallery is located at 1231 Lincoln St., in the heart of Columbia’s downtown Vista district. Gallery hours are 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday and 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Saturday. The exhibition also can be viewed by appointment.

Carl Blair has been on many levels a driving force in South Carolina arts since he appeared on the scene in 1957. As an artist, he was with colleagues such as William Halsey, Corrie McCallum, Merton Simpson, Arthur Rose and J. Bardin in the vanguard of modern art in South Carolina. His prominence as a painter and sculptor has increased steadily and has been marked by several museum retrospectives since 1995. In 1999, he was included in “100 Years/100 Artists: Views of the 20th Century in South Carolina Arts,” the South Carolina State Museum’s look back at the 20th century.

As an art teacher for four decades at Bob Jones University in Greenville, Blair was instrumental in making that institution a hub for fine art production in the Upstate. Blair also has taught at the Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities Summer Honors Program and at the Fine Arts Center for the Greenville County School District. In addition, he taught night and summer classes for two decades at the Greenville County Museum of Art. “His students learn a great deal more than painting from him, as do many of the rest of us,” independent curator and writer Sharon Campbell wrote in the catalogue for a 1998 Blair retrospective at BJU, from which Blair retired in 1998. “We learn to live lives of compassion, diligence, and freedom. He is invaluable to the artistic life of this region …”

As co-founder, part owner and president of one of the state’s oldest and most important galleries, Hampton III in Taylors, Blair from the early 1970s helped provide an outlet for contemporary art, a rarity then in the state and still an exception rather than the rule. Hampton III’s importance cannot be overstated. In addition to Halsey, McCallum, and Bardin, the gallery from the start provided representation for Leo Twiggs, Jeanet Dreskin, Bette Lee Coburn, Tom Flowers, John Acorn, Darell Koons, Emery Bopp, and other prominent South Carolina artists. Of this list, six are Verner Award winners.

As a fixture on and in art-related boards, commissions, and organizations, Blair also helped promote and steer the development of the arts. He served for many years on the S.C. Arts Commission board and was elected chairman twice. He also held office in the legendary Guild of South Carolina Artists, which served the state’s visual artists from 1950 through the 1980s, especially with its annual statewide exhibitions.

Blair was born in 1932 in Kansas. In 1956, he received a BFA from the University of Kansas; the next year, he earned an MFA from the Kansas City Art Institute and School of Design. He married Margaret Ruble, and the couple, also in 1957, moved to Greenville, where Blair joined the art faculty at BJU. Soon thereafter, he began teaching at the Greenville museum. In the 1960s he also taught several years at the Kansas City Art Institute’s summer school.

Sunday, April 17, 2005

Works of Art: Carl Blair

Works of art by Carl Blair available through if ART Gallery, 1223 Lincoln St., Columbia, SC

Contact Wim Roefs at if-art-gallery@sc.twcbc.com or at (803) 255-0068/ (803) 238-2351
Gateway West-Light, 1999, monotype, 11 x 11 in.
$1,200

The Barren Land, 1999, monotype, 11 1/2 x 11 in.
 $1,200

Fourteen Miles to the Cumberland Gap, 2012
Gouache on paper, 4 x 6 in., $450

How Do You Do, 2012, gouache on paper, 4 x 6 1/4 in.
$450

Crosswinds, 1979, handcolored collograph
Ed. 5/5, 17 x 13 in., $1,500

Coming n Low, 2012, gouache on paper, 4 1/4 x 6 in., $450

First Frost, 1964, oil on canvas, 38 x 40 in., $7,800

I Went to the River to Pray, 2010, oil on canvas, 40 x 40 in.
$7,000

My Heart is Longing for You, 2006, acrylic on canvas
20 x 24 in., $3,400

Secrets in the Wind, 2011, oil on canvas, 18 x 24 in.,
$3,200

Somebody's Always Saying Goodbye, 2008, acrylic on canvas
20 x 24 in., $3,400

Spring Trauma II, 1969, polymer on masonite
57 x 48 in., $14,500

The Rising of the Moon, 2011, acrylic on canvas
24 x 18 in., $3,200

Think of Me When You're Not Strong, 2009, acrylic on canvas
20 x 24 in., $3,400

West Wind, 1974, oil on canvas, 16 x 20 in., $3,500


Just Before Dawn, 2005
Mixed media on board, 8 x 10 in., $ 950

Burst Of Spring, 1986
Oil on canvas, 30 x 36 in., $5,500


Marching Through Georgia, 2005
Acrylic on canvas, 18 x 23 in., $3,400



Missing You, 2006
Acrylic on canvas, 17 x 17 in., $ 2,800
Ode To An Eastern Dream, 1970
Oil on canvas, 40 x 44 in., $7,500
Fandango, 2006, acrylic on canvas
20 x 17 1/2 in, $2,900





















I'm Saving All My Love Just For You, 2007
Acrylic on gesso and board
9 1/2 x 9 1/2 inches
$ 1,050
Last Goodbye, 2008, acrylic on canvas
20 x 24 in., $ 3,400
My Heart Is Longing For Home, 2009
Acrylic on canvas, 20 x 24 in., $ 3,400










Eighth Of September, 2008, acrylic on canvas
20 x 24 in., $ 3,400
Winter- Last Light, 2005
Oil on canvas, 20 x 24 in., $ 3,400
Recompense, 2007
Acrylic on canvas, 20 x 24 in., $ 3,400
Whispering, 2005
Acrylic on board, 22 x 30 in., $ 3,800
























I'm On My Way, 2006
Acrylic on canvas, 24 x 20 in., $ 3,400









Breaking Your Heart In Two, 2008
Acrylic on panel, 10 x 10 in., $ 1,050

Behold- The Evening Cometh, 2005
Acrylic on canvas, 40 x 40 in., $ 7,000

I Think I Play Snowy Day, 2003
Mixed media on paper, 13 x 17 in.,  $ 1,900


































At Wits End, 2008
Polychrome wood, 31 1/2 x 31 1/2 x 26 in.
$ 6,500

Signs Of The Times, 2005
Mixed media on board, 7 x 11 in., $ 900
It's Been Good To Know You, 2008
Crayon on paper, 4 x 5 3/4 in., $ 450
Evening Joy, 2007
Gouache on paper, 3 3/4 x 5 in., $ 450
I'll See You Again Next Year, 2009
Gouache on paper, 4 1/2 x 6 1/4 in., $ 450
Drums Of War, 2002, acrylic on canvas
19 x 19 in., $ 3,000
Last Touch Of Day, 2007
Gouache on board, 4 x 5 in., $ 450
Run For Your Life, 2008
Crayon (pencil), 4 x 5 3/4 in., $ 450
The Valedictorian, 2007
Polychrome wood
35 x 29 1/2 x 16 1/2 inches
$ 6,500
When Will We Ever Learn, 2008
Crayon/ink on board, 4 x 5 3/4 in., $ 450

















Tied To His Mother's Apron Strings, 2008
Polychrome wood
20 1/2 x 24 x 12 in.
$ 2,500

Miles To Go Before I Sleep, 2007
Acrylic on paper, 22 x 30 in., $ 3,800
Bill, He Yaps A Lot But He Don't Say Much, 2008
Polychrome wood
15 1/4 x 6 1/2 x 23 1/2 in.
$ 2,900


Help, I've Got Something Stuck In My Bad Eye, But My Leg Feels A Lot Better, 2008
Polychrome wood
23 x 28 x 15 inches
$ 3,100
Hey, I Was Here First, 2008
Polychrome wood
20 1/2 x 20 1/2 x 12 1/2 inches
$ 2,900
Freaked Out, 2008
Polychrome wood
10 3/4 x 11 x 11 3/4 inches
$ 1,200
Zero, 2008
Polychrome wood
32 x 43 x 12 1/2 in.
$ 5,800
























Seems Like Someone Is Always Saying Goodbye, 2008
Polychrome wood
13 1/4 x 11 1/4 x 15 inches
$ 1,800
Jimmy Crack Corn, 2008
Polychrome wood
19 1/4 x 15 1/2 x 13 inches
$ 3,100
No Reason Left To Stay, 2009
Acrylic on canvas, 20 x 24 in., $ 3,400

Billy Goat Gruff, 2007
Polychrome wood
18 x 15 ½ x 11 ½ inches
$ 2,100
Ow, My Goiter Hurts Me So, 2008
Polychrome wood
25 x 23 x 11 1/2 inches
$ 3,500

Delusions Of Grandeur, 2008
Polychrome wood
18 3/4 x 11 1/4 x 17 1/4 inches
$ 3,100
The Dope, 2007
Polychrome wood
16 1/4 x 14 1/2 x 25 inches
$ 3,100





Don't You Weep, 2007
Acrylic on canvas, 20 x 24 in., $ 3,400


























































































































Works of art by Carl Blair are available at if ART Gallery, 1223 Lincoln Street, Columbia, SC.

Contact Wim Roefs at if-art-gallery@sc.twcbc.com or (803) 255-0068/(803) 238-2351.