I have to say that working with Artist on Fire will never leave me the same. The initiators, Alex and Sara Radin, are some of the most remarkable people I have ever met. Humility and the arts are not two things that often go together, and Charleston is in no need of another young artist dude who doesn’t know that he doesn’t know. Not to mention, it’s difficult coming into a new group of artists; I’m not up for the shameless display where everyone peacocks around trying to prove their place in the pecking order. But Artist on Fire has been surprisingly – refreshingly – the opposite. There is so much love among them. They have extended an open invitation to participate with them, free of competition, and free of self-preservation. I have witnessed time and again how they put others first, how they sacrifice self to give others opportunity to flourish. And their faith… faith to dream, courage to act, confident that God is going to work it out. I was blown away last year at Spoleto 2010 by the power of their show, Passing Notion, and hope that they will remain a fixture in the festival for years to come. They are passionate about art and genuinely care about the people who will come through their doors. This is the kind of art that touches individuals in a good way, who then transform communities, and shape culture. I’ve seen enough in religion to make me skeptical at times, but these people really live out their faith, and it is beautiful.
Author Archives: ArtWeb
Working with Artist on Fire
Why This Show is Personally Significant
The year is 2011 and I have just installed my first art show since 1999.
Some background… I used to have a career in the arts. Such a career was a natural outflow from my first conscience push around age 3-4 toward embracing the discipline and grueling work that art can be. I could see a picture in my mind of an apron in pencil shaded to give the perfect illusion of a 3-D object on a 2-D page. How I labored to get that image onto paper. But that kind of drawing wouldn’t come until (and I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say) hundreds of miles had been put onto pencils. Read More
Reception Times and Exhibition Hours
You are Invited to Join Us at 3 Artist’s Receptions:
Opening and Artist Reception:
Thursday, May 26, 5-8pm
Encore Artist Reception:
Friday, May 27, 5-9pm
Finale with closing Artist Reception:
Sunday, June 12, 4-6pm.
Other Open Hours (May 28-June 11):
Monday thru Thursday 11am-5pm
Friday & Saturday 11am-6pm
Sundays 2pm-6pm
The exhibit is free and open to the public at Citadel Square Baptist Church on the 3rd floor from the Henrietta Street entrance (view a map). Free Parking is being provided by Citadel Square Baptist Church in their lot on Calhoun Street for those attending this event.
Spoleto 2011 Exhibition
Thursday, May 26th, opens the internationally acclaimed Spoleto Festival USA 2011 in Charleston, SC. Join us for the exhibition and 3 artist receptions. Artist Melanie Spinks has the privilege of exhibiting 6 new large-scale mixed media works in a group show with Artist on Fire. Fourteen artists will be participating in the show called Infusion: The Laws of Force and Motion at Citadel Square Baptist Church on Marion Square across from the outdoor exhibitions.
Here is the show summary from the Artist on Fire website:
Sir Isaac Newton states it best in his first law of motion: Every object persists in its state of rest, or uniform motion unless, it is compelled to change that state, by an external force. In every situation in which there is chaos, pain, suffering, disorder, or the monotonous and mundane, a force is required to bring about change. Though we may endure pain for many years, everything can change in an instant with the right force applied. What was painstaking, laborious, broken, groaning, and rumbling is changed into something unexpectedly remarkable, astonishingly beautiful, miraculously perfect. And, we know, see, perceive a glimpse of reality we have not yet known until that point in time.
During the internationally acclaimed Piccolo Spoleto Festival, from May 26 to June 12, Artist on Fire will present “Infusion: The Laws of Force & Motion”, a multi-media exhibit that explores the cycles of life, forces of change, and what results from active, purposeful interaction with our world. Fourteen artists unravel the different aspects of this theme through works in photography, film, installation art, sculpture, music, poetry, and painting…
The visual artists will be accompanied by several musicians performing live during our opening, encore artist reception, and finale, as well as other various times throughout the 17 days of the festival…
The exhibit is free and open to the public at Citadel Square Baptist Church on the 3rd floor from the Henrietta Street entrance (view a map). Free Parking is being provided by Citadel Square Baptist Church in their lot on Calhoun Street for those attending this event.
Opening and Artist Reception:
Thursday, May 26, 5-8pm
Encore Artist Reception:
Friday, May 27, 5-9pm
Finale with closing Artist Reception:
Sunday, June 12, 4-6pm.
Other Open Hours (May 28-June 11):
Monday thru Thursday 11am-5pm
Friday & Saturday 11am-6pm
Sundays 2pm-6pm
Classical Painting Atelier: A Contemporary Guide to Traditional Studio Practice by Juliette Aristedes
Portal of Beauty: Towards a Theology of Aesthetics by Bruno Forte