November 18th: Coker College's Bell Gallery to host the 41st Annual Student Art Competition

The Coker College Art Club’s annual student exhibition begins with a reception at 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 18. Merit awards and prizes will be presented at the opening, and light refreshments will be served. The reception and exhibit are free and open to the public.

The 41st Annual Student Competition will exhibit a selection of the best student work from the past year. The exhibition is open for viewing through Nov. 26.

Coker’s annual student exhibition is designed as a competition and includes entries from beginning through advanced students. This year, the judge will be John Rise, a professional artist whose paintings are currently on exhibit in the Cecilia Coker Bell Gallery.

Rise will select the pieces to exhibit, assign places and award prizes that have been donated by art manufacturers and suppliers. Judges for these shows are given free reign regarding a show’s size and focus, and the resulting shows have ranged from large and inclusive to small, theme-oriented exhibitions. As with all independent judges, Rise’s choices may support the opinions of faculty and peers, but his choices may also run counter to some of those opinions. In either case, this selection process has always served as a stimulus for critical discussion.

Rise received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in drawing from Arizona State University as well as a Master of Arts and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of New Mexico. While pursuing his master’s degrees, Rise taught drawing and painting classes at the University of New Mexico, first as a graduate assistant and later as an adjunct professor.

Since 2005, Rise has taught drawing at the Savannah College of Art and Design, where he was awarded the 2010-11 Vulcan Materials Company Teaching Excellence Award for his outstanding contributions to undergraduate education, student learning and campus life.

The Cecelia Coker Bell Gallery is located in the Gladys C. Fort Art Building on the Coker College campus. Gallery hours are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, while classes are in session. It is located in the Gladys C. Fort Art Building.

For more information about the gallery, contact gallery director and assistant professor of art Larry Merriman at 843-383-8156, lmerriman@coker.edu or visit http://www.ceceliacokerbellgallery.com/.

Coker College upholds and defends the intellectual and artistic freedom of its faculty and students as they study and create art through which they explore the full spectrum of human experience. The college considers such pursuits central to the spirit of inquiry and thoughtful discussion, which are at the heart of a liberal arts education.

August 26th: Opening Reception for JinMan Jo's Sculpture Exhibit at Coker College

The Cecelia Coker Bell Gallery begins its 2013-2014 season with an exhibition of sculpture by South Korean artist JinMan Jo.

JinMan Jo’s sculpture exhibit opens Aug. 26, with a reception in the Cecelia Coker Bell Gallery from7 to 8 p.m. Light refreshments will be served, and the reception is free and open to the public.

JinMan Jo will visit his show on Friday, Sept. 20, which is the last day of his exhibit. During the morning, he will speak to student groups about his work, and, at 3 p.m., he will give a gallery talk in the Cecelia Coker Bell Gallery. The afternoon gallery talk/reception is also free and the public is invited.

On a personal level, JinMan Jo finds society’s increasing focus on electronic media and consumerism disturbing. As relationships between people become electronically diluted, and consumer goods evermore short lived, he looks for symbols of strength in his sculpture. He works primarily in durable materials like stone, steel and wood. He welds, wires and cements these materials in ways that visually reinforce their durability. His sculptures appear ready to resist any assault and offer counter balance to the ephemeral aspects of contemporary civilization.

“Thick steel bends during forging and hammering, thin wires are welded together and weak things overlap and connect with each other to become strong,” said JinMan Jo. “Each element makes an undeniable contribution to the whole. I want these substances to individually represent the required strength that is needed to withstand greater forces of nature.”

JinMan Jo’s work has been exhibited in solo shows in the United States and Korea as well as numerous group exhibitions. His work is included in the collections of the Gail Art Museum in GaPyon, Korea; the Seosan Art Center, Seosan, Korea; the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul, Korea; the Summit Street Gallery, Iowa City, Iowa, and the Utah State University College of Business in Logan, Utah. He has been honored twice with the Outstanding Achievement Award in Contemporary Sculpture by the International Sculpture Center. He currently teaches at the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point.

Originally from South Korea, JinMan Jo received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in sculpture from the University of Seoul in Seoul, Korea, in 1999. He earned a Master of Arts and Master of Fine Arts from the University of Iowa in 2002 and 2003.

The Cecelia Coker Bell Gallery is located in the Gladys C. Fort Art Building on the Coker College campus. Gallery hours are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, while classes are in session.

For more information about the gallery, contact gallery director and assistant professor of art Larry Merriman at 843-383-8156 or artgallery@coker.edu or visit http://www.ceceliacokerbellgallery.com/.

Coker College upholds and defends the intellectual and artistic freedom of its faculty and students as they study and create art through which they explore the full spectrum of human experience. The college considers such pursuits central to the spirit of inquiry and thoughtful discussion, which are at the heart of a liberal arts education.

Image: “Exclamation I”

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Coker College readies undergraduates for personal and professional success through a distinctive four-year program that emphasizes a practical application of the liberal arts as well as hands-on and discussion-based learning within and beyond the classroom. Coker is ranked among the “Best Colleges” in the South by U.S. News & World Report as well as The Princeton Review. Located in Hartsville, S.C., Coker is within two hours of the cultural, financial and recreational resources of Charlotte, Columbia, Charleston and Myrtle Beach.

Through August 24th: The 8th Annual Student Summer Show at Coker College

The 8th Annual Student Summer Show will be on display through August 24 at the Cecelia Coker Bell Gallery in the Fort Art Building on the campus of Coker College in downtown Hartsville. The exhibit features the art faculty's selection of student works from the past year and includes examples of sculpture, photography, drawing, and graphic design.

Admission is free.  The gallery does not have regular hours during the summer so please call ahead for a viewing, 843.383.8156.

The Bell Gallery is located at 300 East College Avenue on the campus of Coker College in downtown Hartsville.

January 17th to February 1st: 40th Annual Faculty Show at Coker College

Coker College’s 40th Annual Faculty Art Show opens at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 17 with a public reception in the Cecelia Coker Bell Gallery. The reception is free and refreshments will be served. 

Professors Jean Grosser, Jim Boden, Ken Maginnis, Larry Merriman and Courtney Richards will be present for the reception to discuss their artwork. 

The Coker College Art Department annually mounts a January exhibition of the work produced by its faculty. The presentations offer the college and community an opportunity to see the faculty’s most recent work and give students a chance to see their professors practicing what they teach. 

Grosser, chair of the department, has taught at Coker since 1985. She will show drawings from her “Fragments of Hate” series. Grosser’s drawings are large reproductions of crumpled pages torn from the neo-Nazi text, “The White Man’s Bible.” Although her initial reaction was to burn, shoot and bolt shut these hateful texts, she has decided the best response is to expose them to the light of day.

A graphic designer, Maginnis joined Coker in 1999. In addition to teaching and doing design work for the department and college, Maginnis designs Web sites and promotional materials for businesses and individuals. He will include a selection of his recent posters in the show.

Although Boden, who also joined the faculty in 1999, is on sabbatical, he will show a selection of recent paintings. Using what he refers to as a “greyed-down pallet,” Boden’s paintings may initially appear to be black and white images, but they are, in fact, full of subtle colors.

Merriman has taught and served as director of Coker’s gallery since 1988. Long interested in resource use and misuse, Merriman will display a new sculpture from his series of temporary sculptures. The work selected for this show is made from shredded paper recycled from Merriman’s home and office.

Richards, who is serving the department during Boden’s sabbatical, will show charcoal drawings that portray various figures falling through the air or expressing extremes of anguish, anger and pain. 

The Cecelia Coker Bell Gallery is located in the Gladys C. Fort Art Building on the Coker College campus. Gallery hours are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, while classes are in session.  The Faculty Art Show continues through Feb. 1 and will be replaced by an exhibition of pastel and mixed-media works by Abby McLaurin, which opens Feb. 4.

For more information about the gallery, contact Merriman at 843-383-8156 or lmerriman@coker.edu or visit http://www.ceceliacokerbellgallery.com.

Coker College upholds and defends the intellectual and artistic freedom of its faculty and students as they study and create art through which they explore the full spectrum of human experience. The college considers such pursuits central to the spirit of inquiry and thoughtful discussion, which are at the heart of a liberal arts education.

April 9th: Aliese Gregory’s Senior Art Exhibition Opens at Coker College

Aliese Gregory, a Coker College art student from Hartsville, will open her senior show, an exhibition of photography, with a public reception from 6 to 7 p.m. Monday, April 9, in the Cecelia Coker Bell Gallery.

The reception is free and refreshments will be served.  Gregory’s show continues through April 13.

Coker’s senior exhibitions, first established in 1958, are required of all of its art majors and represent the culmination of four years of study. They are intended to offer students an opportunity to share their work with the Coker and Hartsville communities as well as with friends and family.

Gregory’s show is part of Coker’s annual Celebration of Academics, which is sponsored by Wells Fargo. For more information about the Celebration of Academics, visitwww.coker.edu/celebration-of-academics.html.

Remaining senior art exhibits this semester include Seth Johnson’s painting and video show April 16–20 and Danielle Wallace’s sculpture installation April 23–27. 

The Cecelia Coker Bell Gallery is located in the Gladys C. Fort Art Building on the Coker College campus. Gallery hours are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, while classes are in session.

For more on the gallery, visit http://www.wix.com/cokerartgallery/ccgb. 

Coker College upholds and defends the intellectual and artistic freedom of its faculty and students as they study and create art through which they explore the full spectrum of human experience. The college considers such pursuits central to the spirit of inquiry and thoughtful discussion, which are at the heart of a liberal arts education.

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To have your project, program or event promoted by Pee Dee Arts, email complete information to peedeearts@gmail.com.  

Coker College's Senior Art Majors to have work showcased in April

Coker College’s Senior Art Exhibits for Spring of 2012

April 9^th – 13^th ~ Aliese Gregory, photography

(opening reception April 9^th  from 6-7pm)

April 16^th – 20^th ~ Seth Johnson, painting & video

(opening reception April 16^th from 7-8pm)

April 23th – 27^th ~ Danielle Wallace, installation sculpture 

(opening reception April 23^rd from 7-8pm)

Senior exhibitions are required of Coker’s art majors and represent the culmination of four years of study. At the same time, these shows offer the student an opportunity to share their work with the Coker and Hartsville communities, as well as friends and family.

The Cecelia Coker Bell Gallery is located in the Gladys C. Fort Art Building on the Coker College campus in downtown Hartsville, SC.

Coker College upholds and defends the intellectual and artistic freedom of its faculty and students as they study and create art through which they explore the full spectrum of human experience. The college considers such pursuits central to the spirit of inquiry and thoughtful discussion, which are at the heart of a liberal arts education.

Check back with Pee Dee Arts for more information about these shows as their openings approach.

To have your event, program or project promoted by Pee Dee Arts, send complete information to peedeearts@gmail.com.  

Opening January 9th: Coker's 39th Annual Faculty Art Show

Coker Presents 39^th Annual Faculty Art Show

HARTSVILLE, S.C. – Coker College’s 39th Annual Faculty Show opens at 7 p.m. on Jan. 9 with a public reception in the Cecelia Coker Bell Gallery.

In the month of January, for the past thirty-eight years, the Coker art department has mounted an exhibition of works produced by its faculty. These presentations offer the college and Hartsville community the opportunity to see the faculty’s most recent work and Coker’s art students a chance to see their professors practicing what they teach.

“Historically, the interest in recording day-to-day life is one common to many artists,” said Assistant Professor of Art and Gallery Director Larry Merriman. “In my art, I am looking for ways to balance the demands of daily life with the need to create art.”

In addition to Merriman, professors Jean Grosser, Jim Boden and Ken Maginnis will exhibit works in the show.

Professor of Art Jean Grosser, who joined the faculty in 1985, now chairs the department and is a member of the Coker College Board of Trustees. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in history from Barnard College, a Bachelor of Fine Arts in sculpture from Alfred State College of Ceramics and a Master of Fine Arts in sculpture from Ohio University. Grosser was invited to include show her work in “Road to Equality: The 1961 Freedom Rides," a permanent exhibit at the historic Greyhound bus station in Montgomery, Ala., that opened to the public on May 20.

Assistant Professor of Art Larry Merriman joined Coker’s faculty in 1988.  He received a Master of Fine Arts in sculpture from Ohio University and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Sculpture from Miami University.  Merriman’s art in recent years has primarily involved large-scale temporary sculptures made of found objects, which allow him to create pieces that suggest complex relationships between and among formal concerns of such things as volume, weight and sculpture and cultural references to our consumer-oriented society.

Professor of Art Jim Boden joined the faculty in 1999 and received his Master of Fine Arts from the University of Cincinnati and a Bachelor of Science in art education from the University of Minnesota. His work was included in recent group exhibitions at the Cecelia Coker Bell College Art Gallery; 440 Gallery, Brooklyn, N.Y.; the Florence Art Museum, Florence, S.C.; and solo exhibitions at the Rabold Gallery, Aiken, S.C.; and Black Creek Arts Council Gallery, Hartsville, S.C.  In 2001, he was awarded First Place in the Grand Prix International Drawing Biennale in Melbourne, Australia.  Among other numerous awards in the U.S., Boden has won First Place at StateWide, Florence Art Museum, Florence, S.C., and the First Place and Purchase Awards at Drawing From Perceptions - Biennial Drawing Exhibition, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio.

Associate Professor of Art Ken Maginnis joined the Coker Faculty in 1999.  He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from Philadelphia College of Art and his Master of Fine Arts from the University of Tennessee–Knoxville.  At Coker, Maginnis’ work focuses largely on graphic design, typography, photography and interactive, web-based technologies. Maginnis’ design career, although rooted in a modernist foundation, has centered on his love of typography rather than on any single style or art movement.

The reception for the 39^th Annual Faculty Show is free and refreshments will be served. The exhibition will continue through Jan. 27. All art faculty members will be present for the reception to answer questions about their artwork.                          
The Cecelia Coker Bell Gallery is located in the Gladys C. Fort Art Building on the Coker College campus. For more on the gallery, go to http://www.wix.com/cokerartgallery/ccgb.

Coker College upholds and defends the intellectual and artistic freedom of its faculty and students as they study and create art through which they explore the full spectrum of human experience. The college considers such pursuits central to the spirit of inquiry and thoughtful discussion, which are at the heart of a liberal arts education.

                                    

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Coker College readies undergraduates for personal and professional success through a distinctive four-year program that emphasizes a practical application of the liberal arts as well as hands-on and discussion-based learning within and beyond the classroom. Coker is ranked among the “Best Colleges” in the South by U.S. News & World Report as well as The Princeton Review. Located in Hartsville, S.C., Coker is within two hours of the cultural, financial and recreational resources of Charlotte, Columbia, Charleston and Myrtle Beach.