ARTS

LEPRINCE FINE ART

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LePrince Fine Art, located at 184 and 183 King St., doubles as a studio for owner and artist Kevin LePrince. LePrince paints there six days a week and encourages guests to watch and ask questions about the process. The walls are filled with bodies of work from a select few nationally recognized, emerging artists from across North America. While the general look of the artists represented could be described as contemporary impressionism, each artist has a unique style defined by brushstrokes, palette choices and compositions. “I’m trying to encourage artists to push their creativity,” LePrince says. “I do this by giving them more wall space. That way, they’re not restricted, and they can get outside of their comfort zones, push the envelope a little.”

Between both galleries, there is 3,600 square feet of open gallery space, high ceilings and hardwood floors. The gallery has been designed to highlight the art—a collector can relax and enjoy a painting from a distance. Unable to visit in person? Visit the LePrince website for constant updates or to browse before coming in.

LePrince Fine Art
843-442-1664
leprince.com

MEREDITH POSTON

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Meredith Poston was born in Louisville, Kentucky, into a family who appreciated the fine and performing arts. From an early age Poston wanted to be a fine artist and was strongly encouraged by her family. She focused on human and animal subjects, and she copied the work of her father, who was a medical illustrator.

Throughout her adolescence Poston’s passion for art grew. She participated in art classes and camps throughout high school. She attended Western Carolina University, majoring in fine art and communications, where she developed her abstract style. After graduation Poston left the North Carolina mountains for the Charleston coastline, settling on James Island in 2009.

Poston paints abstract expressionist remembrances and reflections. She finds solace in loose, sporadic brushstrokes, with a combination of soft elements juxtaposed with stark separations of contrasting color. Her work is an expression of nature as she sees it—colorful, sometimes gentle, but often startlingly real. Poston paints in her home studio when not working as a freelance writer.

Meredith Poston
843-593-5215
mposton.com

TOM POTOCKI

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Some of Tom Potocki’s earliest memories include helping his father paint large commercial images on walls and billboards. Such experiences led him to a fine arts degree at Pennsylvania’s Carnegie Mellon University and then to New York City. There he became involved in the pop art movement, which impacted his art thereafter. “My art is a visual and emotional response to what I see and experience around me,” he says.

Potocki describes his work as refined graffiti. “The images that develop in my work are derived from a process of applying splashes and layers of color to a surface and letting go of the notion that I have to control every detail,” he says. “The finished pieces should entice the viewer to look beneath the surface of what we think we see around us and discover something new.”

In this way, Potocki invites viewers to use their imaginations, and become a part of the creative process as well as the finished product. Potocki’s work can be seen online and at Mitchell Hill Gallery at 438 King St.

Tom Potocki
843-763-2481
tompotocki.com

ATELIER GALLERY

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Atelier Gallery was founded in early 2008 by Gabrielle Egan. The gallery is known for its innovative original artwork, which appeals to local and national collectors alike.

Atelier Gallery’s focus is to support and promote a variety of artists, while merging the classics with the moderns. Traditional portraits and landscapes are displayed alongside contemporary canvases and sculptures. Watercolors, oils and every medium in between can be found on the walls of this sumptuous gallery.

The 60 artists represented by the gallery have been handpicked by the founder for their unique, innovative approach and dedication to their craft.

Many of the gallery’s artists are from the Southeast, and the Lowcountry has inspired their aesthetic. Others hail from places such as California, New York, Santa Fe, Maine and beyond. Offering an expansive collection of such varied works allows Atelier’s art to resonate with admirers and collectors of all generations.

Atelier Gallery
843-722-5668
theateliergalleries.com

BEN HAM IMAGES

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Ben Ham has been making the connection between his camera and the South Carolina coast for most of his life. Using methods some would call old-fashioned— a large-format wooden camera, a cloth over his head and large sheets of film—Ham captures the essence of the Lowcountry in his richly detailed black-and-white images. But he doesn’t stop there. His love of travel and beautiful places has taken him to the American West as well as to Italy and France.

Ham painstakingly develops and prints his images at his production facility on Hilton Head Island. His limited-edition prints, framed in Italian olive wood, have found their way to individual, corporate and U.S. government collections.

In his book, Vanishing Light, Ham reveals 69 stunning American landscapes and tells us what inspired him to capture them.

Visit Ham’s Charleston gallery at 416 King St. or his new gallery in historic Old Town Bluffton, scheduled to open late summer or early fall.

Ben Ham Images
843-410-1495 (Charleston)
843-842-4163 (Hilton Head)
benhamimages.com

CHERYL NEWBY GALLERY

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There aren’t many galleries where you can browse both antique and contemporary art in a single visit. At the Cheryl Newby Gallery in Pawleys Island, however, you can. Owner Cheryl Newby maintains an extensive selection of contemporary paintings and sculpture alongside a selective inventory of antique maps and prints.

A quick look around the antique side will turn up works by the likes of John James Audubon, George Edwards, Mark Catesby and John Gould. If those don’t satisfy, Newby will gladly find something more to your taste or hunt down prints by a particular artist, should you have one in mind.

When it comes to contemporary artists, the gallery, founded in 1983, represents 13 painters from throughout the country, including William McCullough (S.C.), the late Ray Ellis (Mass), Paula Holtzclaw (N.C.), Martha dePoo (Fla.), the late Quita Brodhead (Pa.) and Mike Williams (S.C.). Three nationally known sculptors—Sandy Scott (Wyo.), Gwen Marcus (N.Y.) and Catherine K. Ferrell (Fla.)—also have work in the gallery, as does fine ceramics artist Glenda Taylor (Fla.) and portrait painter James Crowley (S.C.).

Cheryl Newby Gallery
843-979-0149
cherylnewbygallery.com

REINERT FINE ART & SCULPTURE GARDEN GALLERY

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Owned by contemporary impressionist painter Rick Reinert and his wife Ann, Reinert Fine Art & Sculpture Garden Gallery showcases more than 40 fine classical painters as well as both figurative and abstract sculptors.

Reinert Fine Art recently expanded its presence on King Street by opening Reinert Contemporary Fine Art at 202 King Street. This third location features acclaimed Charleston- based abstract artist Eva Carter and abstract impressionist painter Susan Colwell. Reinert’s largest contemporary works are also offered at the beautiful new space in addition to a collection of artisan jewelry.

Each location is open seven days a week, with art events the first Friday of each month at 5:30 p.m. at both spaces. Visit the galleries at 179 King Street or 202 King Street in Charleston, or at 1153 Main Street in Blowing Rock, North Carolina.

Reinert Fine Art & Sculpture Garden Gallery
843-694-2445
reinertfineart.com

DEBRA PAYSINGER

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Debra Paysinger taught high school science and math for 10 years, but the arrival of her third child was the signal for change. Fortunately, her passion for needlepoint allowed her some artistic expression within the constraints of parenthood. When all the kids learned to drive, however, Paysinger found herself with large chunks of time for painting. The last needlepoint project went into a drawer unfinished, and she was off.

The artist’s master’s degree in biology has informed her subject matter, as she paints birds, lures, sea life and rabbits—or “raddits” as she endearingly refers to them. She even trademarked the term “the raddit” as her own.

Paysinger assigns a not-tobe-repeated human name to every bird she paints. While she has prints available for a few of her subjects, she doesn’t sell reproductions of her birds and raddits. She says, “I think it adds a uniqueness to the whole thing.” You can find Paysinger’s works in Studio 151 Gallery in Charleston and Ellen Taylor Interiors + Design in Columbia.

Debra Paysinger
dtpart@sc.rr.com
debrapaysinger.com

TARA VIS GALLERY

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Tara Vis Gallery continues its mission to find and capture the most unique and innovative worldwide photography with this year’s visit to Vava’u, one of the many island groups of Tonga, to swim with beautiful humpback whales. Another adventure involved surfing at Jaws for the 2016 Pe’ahi Challenge, all with Tim Whitfield, owner of Tara Vis Gallery, Brian Bielmann, surf photographer extraordinaire, and Ben Reed, surf and wildlife photographer/videographer. “The raw power of being on the ocean during these types of conditions, whether on a jet ski or boat, is such an overwhelming feeling,” Whitfield says. “To be able to witness the passion and ability of those that choose to follow the path of attempting to ride and conquer these giants, just for a moment in time, is something that is unbelievable to me. It’s not a photo, it’s a lifestyle.” Surf photography and the spectacular underwater spectacle of the whales in Vava’u will be the major theme this winter at Tara Vis, beginning in mid-January. The gallery will also introduce and exhibit a different local artist from Charleston every month. Visit Tara Vis Gallery at 218-C King St.

Tara Vis Gallery
843-577-0253
taravisgallery.com

MITCHELL HILL GALLERY

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It was six years ago that the impressively high-ceilinged Mitchell Hill Gallery came to Upper King Street. Filled with paintings, sculptures, custom furniture and photographs, the gallery offers the city a refreshing departure from the formal, traditional spaces so often seen in Charleston.

Since its opening, Mitchell Hill has accumulated the works of countless artists, with a total of 30 currently displayed there— particularly regional creators of both art and decor. This year, the gallery launched its own gilded metal lighting collection, which is artfully displayed throughout the space, illuminating the 5,000-square-foot art and design showroom.

Upstairs, Mitchell Hill offers full-scale interior design services. The gallery always pulls from its enormous inventory when building a project. “Often, we’ll use a piece of art as a leaping-off point. The two worlds really do collide,” co-owner Michael Mitchell says. “Our clients tend to be sophisticated art collectors, so the art is part of the process.”

Mitchell Hill hosts monthly receptions and offers an online shopping experience at shop mitchellhill.com.

Mitchell Hill Gallery
843-564-0034
mitchellhillinc.com

ELLA WALTON RICHARDSON FINE ART

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“Paint what you feel and do what you feel.” These are the words American impressionist C.W. Mundy spoke to Donny Weber at the start of his career when Weber was worried about having one set style. Weber took his mentor at his word and, since then, has enjoyed a long, prolific career.

“My style is constantly evolving, which is part of how I view my profession. I paint in different styles depending on the subject,” says Weber. “My landscapes are very loose. Some work I paint with a knife and some are more brushwork oriented. And I do it this way because it all interests me.”

Weber’s work is represented by Ella Walton Richardson Fine Art, a gallery housed in an elegant and inviting historic property at 58 Broad St. in downtown Charleston. The gallery strives to meet the needs of clients by offering consistently exceptional artwork from established and emerging artists, such as Donny Weber.

Along with Weber, the gallery offers artwork from over 30 artists working in a range of styles and media.

Ella Walton Richardson Fine Art
843-722-3660
ellarichardson.com

STUDIO 151 FINE ARTS

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Located near the corner of Church and Market streets, Studio 151 is filled from floor to ceiling with pieces from over a dozen local artists, all of whom use their art to respond to what’s around them here in the South. From Bob Graham, a Civil War painter, to Daryl Knox, who’s inspired by Lowcountry marshes and creeks, a passion for this unique corner of the country is evident throughout the gallery.

Studio 151 also features watercolors, oils, monotypes, photography and mixed media from Colleen Wiessmann, Lu Bentley, Sandy Scott, Amelia Rose Smith, Ron Chamberlain, Detta Zimmerman, Rosie Phillips, Jennifer Koach, Amelia Whaley, Dixie Dugan, Nancy Davidson, Debra Paysinger, Christie Crosby, and jewelers Lissa Block, Jean Norman and Shelby Parbel.

Styles and subjects can range from collage works to abstracts and traditional realism, and the gallery’s jewelry artists ensure you can always leave with a wearable souvenir. Artists are inhouse daily to greet and discuss their works, and the gallery is open every day of the week.

Studio 151 Fine Arts
843-579-9725
studio151finearts.com

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