The City of North Charleston’s Cultural Arts Department is pleased to announce that woven fiber works by Kristy Bishop (Charleston, SC) and oil paintings by Anne T. Nielsen (Appling, GA) will be on display at Park Circle Gallery from October 2-26, 2024. A free public reception will be held on Friday, October 4, from 5:00-7:00pm. Admission is free.
MetaWeaves – Woven Textile Works by Kristy Bishop
In her exhibit, MetaWeaves, Charleston-based textile artist Kristy Bishop features a collection of fiber works that draw inspiration from the rich history of tablet weaving. Bishop’s work is an engagement with ancient practice and traditional techniques that were once commonly used to adorn clothing. “By delving into the historical roots of weaving, I honors the craft’s heritage while infusing it with contemporary vision and freedom,” she explains. Bishop meticulously weaves a series of bands with unique patterns and color using inkle, rigid heddle, and tablet weaving, and then interweaves those bands into ever growing compositions. The interwoven masses grow and evolve, split and stretch. Guided by the color and pattern relationships within each band, new pathways materialize, creating a visual tapestry that tells its own story.
Kristy Bishop is multidisciplinary artist and teaching artist whose work is rooted in weaving and textiles. Her fiber pieces have been featured in group and solo exhibitions throughout the southeast, as well as California, Texas, and Illinois. She has been an artist-in-residence at the Gibbes Museum of Art, 701 Center for Contemporary Art, and City of North Charleston Cultural Arts Department, and travels regularly for artist residencies in public schools all over South Carolina. Kristy partners with Engaging Creative Minds, the Charleston Museum, McClellanville Arts Council, and the Gibbes Museum of Art to facilitate workshops. Learn more about the artist at www.kristybishop.com.
Dreams and Visions – Oil Paintings by Anne T. Nielsen
Dreams and Visions features a mesmerizing collection of Anne T. Nielsen’s latest oil paintings. Each piece is a vivid exploration of the symbolism that emerged from her dreams and visions. “I have a creative thought or question, while awake, then usually, in my dreams, the images come fully complete,” Nielsen explains. “I wake up, roll off the bed and with my pencil, post cards, and my flashlight, I draw down the idea with notes on colors, textures, and even deeper psychological meanings. I then mix old master information and techniques with abstract marks to portray the image, to be brought to fruition.” Nielsen’s paintings invite viewers to delve into a world where subconscious imagery transforms into profound visual narratives, offering an ultimate journey through the ethereal landscapes of her imagination.
An artist with an education in psychology, Anne T. Nielsen brings a wide range of experience and deep meaning to her art. She has always been creative, and started as a self-taught metal artist, before volunteering as theater art director and painter of full stage backdrops. Desiring to expand her understanding and knowledge of painting techniques, she studied old master style portraiture, still life, plein aire, and landscape painting, along with symbolism and emotionalism. Her newest work fits no conventional genre but is a mixture of abstracted ideas utilizing the careful glazes, brush strokes, and techniques of old master portraiture. She steps outside those accepted artistic boundaries for deeper psychological and spiritual meanings. She refers to this fresh new approach of combining masterful techniques with deeper spiritual meanings as Interpretive Nuvo Abstractionism. Nielsen’s paintings have been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions throughout the country and have won several awards in juried competitions. She has had paintings shown in the office of the Georgia Governor and the South Carolina Senate offices, and Galerie Stackl’r in Sedan, France. Learn more about the artist at www.annetnielsen.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 11:00am-6:00pm Wednesday-Friday, and Noon-4:00pm on Saturday. For more information about PCG, call 843-637-3565 or email [email protected]. For information on other Cultural Arts programs and artist opportunities, visit the Arts & Culture section of the City’s website.