LEPRINCE FINE ART
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 composition.
“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.
LePrince’s work is also represented by Pecky Interiors at 100 Central Ave. in Sarasota, Florida, and Jett Thompson Home at 393 Broad Ave. South in Naples, Florida.
LEPRINCE FINE ART
843.442.1664
LEPRINCE.COM
MEREDITH POSTON
Meredith Poston was born in Louisville, Kentucky, into a family that appreciated the fine and performing arts. From an early age Poston wanted to be an 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 to 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 waterfront home studio when not working as a writer and researcher; she also contributes to the James Island government, as secretary for the James Island Public Service District.
MEREDITH POSTON
843.593.5215
MPOSTON.COM
DEBRA PAYSINGER
Debra Paysinger’s master’s degree in biology has informed her subject matter, as she primarily paints birds, lures, sea life and rabbits—or the raddits, as she endearingly refers to them. She owns the registered trademark for the term “the raddit” and each whimsical creation is uniquely numbered within the painting.
Paysinger assigns a not-to-be-repeated human name to each expressive bird she paints. These names are found on the back of each work. These striking animal portraits stand on their own yet have a grounded familiarity with the others. It’s as if Paysinger knows the personality of every raddit and bird and finds a way to let that personality shine through. Paysinger paints and sells what she loves—and nothing could make her happier.
You can find Paysinger’s art in Studio 151 Fine Arts Gallery on Church Street in Charleston, at Over the Mantel Gallery on Carlisle Street in Columbia, and at Abode Home 2 in Banner Elk, North Carolina.
DEBRA PAYSINGER
DEBRAPAYSINGER.COM
TOM POTOCKI
The spirit of late Charleston artist Tom Potocki is reflected in his own description of his art:
“My work is all about exploring the creative process involved in the act of drawing and painting. The works are derived through a constantly evolving experimental process of applying colors to a surface, usually by splashing, blotting, stamping and occasionally setting the piece out in the rain. Having no preconceived notion of where this might lead, the process actually becomes the subject of the art itself. In this way, the work takes on a life of its own and tells me what direction to take it.
“To a certain extent, the process of painting the piece is just as important as the final result. It usually becomes a play on creation and destruction, a constant adding to and taking away. Hopefully, the viewer will get a sense of my involvement with the creation, and this will open them up to enjoying the work through their own imagination. The viewer should get a sense that I’m not trying to capture what I would call the illusion of reality, but sense that I’m trying to get at the energy that is behind that reality. To me, the viewer really completes the creative cycle.” —Tom Potocki
TOM POTOCKI
843.763.2481
TOMPOTOCKI.COM
MITCHELL HILL GALLERY
Filled with paintings, sculptures, custom furniture and photographs, Mitchell Hill Gallery offers the city a refreshing departure from the formal, traditional spaces so often seen in Charleston.
Original works from more than 35 artists from across the United States are currently on display in its mixed-use space. Daily arrivals and departures foster an ever-changing environment you will want to stop by often.
The first floor gallery space offers a sneak peek into the interior design aesthetic of owners and designers Michael Mitchell and Tyler Hill. 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,” co-owner Michael Mitchell says.
Custom furniture made in the Southeast breaks up the 5,000-square-foot space, featured in creative vignettes that are outfitted with unique accessories, pillows and artwork.
Located at 438 King St., Mitchell Hill Gallery is open seven days a week. Visit the website to explore interior design projects as well as a roster of artists and the Mitchell Hill collections.
MITCHELL HILL GALLERY
843.564.0034
MITCHELLHILLINC.COM
ELLA W. RICHARDSON FINE ART
Ella W. Richardson Fine Art is home to more than two dozen talented American and European artists whose styles range from realistic to impressionist to abstract.
Currently on exhibit are the innovative works of Lynchburg, Virginia, artist Kevin Chadwick, who merges realistic portrait oils with abstracts to create captivating masterpieces. Critically acclaimed and internationally collected, the artist specializes in African American figures.
Chadwick is a former award-winning Washington, D.C. illustrator with more than 30 years of experience working in a variety of techniques. He describes his process, saying: “I first paint abstract shapes covering my canvas and then roughly sketch in the positions of the figures. I let the patterns take over, layer upon layer, and the work takes on a life of its own.”
The artists also says: “Each work has always surprised me in some way. Each has its own challenges, capturing facial expressions and skin tones, but the fun is adding the sea of flowing patterns throughout, which hopefully attracts and keeps the viewer’s eye.”
To view Chadwick’s works and enjoy the gallery’s most recent collection, stop by Ella W. Richardson Fine Art at 58 Broad St. in Charleston. New exhibitions are introduced each month.
ELLA W. RICHARDSON FINE ART
843.722.3660
ELLARICHARDSON.COM
CHERYL NEWBY GALLERY
Established in 1983, Cheryl Newby Gallery is the Grand Strand’s premier fine art gallery, representing renowned artists from around the country. For over 35 years the gallery has maintained its reputation for the highest quality fine art. Located in Pawleys Island, the gallery currently represents 18 professional painters and sculptors whose works vary in style and range from purely abstract to representational. One-person and group exhibitions are presented each quarter, with smaller “pop-up” shows throughout the year.
Among the artists represented are William McCullough (South Carolina), the late Ray Ellis (Massachusetts), Lisa Gleim (Georgia), Paula Holtzclaw (North Carolina), Martha dePoo (Florida), the late Quita Brodhead (Pennsylvania) and Mike Williams (South Carolina). Four nationally known sculptors, Sandy Scott, FNSS (Wyoming); Gwen Marcus, FNSS (New York); Amy Kann, FNSS (Pennsylvania); and Catherine K. Ferrell (Florida), also have work in the gallery, as does ceramics artist Glenda Taylor (Florida). Also represented is portrait painter James Crowley of New York.
While it has acquired many loyal patrons, both private and corporate, this gallery welcomes and enjoys providing assistance to the novice collector.
CHERYL NEWBY GALLERY
843.979.0149
CHERYLNEWBYGALLERY.COM
NEEMA FINE ART GALLERY
Charleston’s newest art gallery features original art and jewelry by South Carolina-based African American artists. Located at 3 Broad St. at the start of Gallery Row, Neema Fine Art Gallery represents 15 artists, including the winner of the 2019 Elizabeth O’Neill Verner Artist of the Year Award and 2019 Yaddo Resident Tyrone Geter, world-renowned civil rights era photographer and 2019 Elizabeth O’Neill Verner Lifetime Achievement awardee Cecil Williams, highly collected husband-and-wife potters Winton and Rosa Eugene, and acclaimed mixed-media artist April Harrison.
Says gallery owner Meisha Johnson: “My mission for the gallery is threefold: to help increase the number of African American artists that are represented by galleries on the peninsula, to help diversify who shops on the peninsula, and to encourage the emergence of more minority-owned businesses on the peninsula.”
Weekly events include Sweetgrass Basket Thursdays from 10 to 11:30 a.m. and Book Signing Sundays from 3 to 5 p.m. Soon to come are monthly fine dining experiences coupled with live performances through the Sankofa Supper Club and Dinner Theater.
Johnson says, “I want everyone who enters the gallery to feel a sense of ownership, to come in and experience the art and feel at home—this is their gallery.”
NEEMA FINE ART GALLERY
843.353.8079
NEEMAGALLERY.COM
REINERT FINE ART
Owned by contemporary impressionist painter Rick Reinert and his wife, Ann, Reinert Fine Art showcases more than 50 regional and nationally acclaimed classical painters, as well as figurative and abstract sculptors.
Each gallery location is thoughtfully curated to appeal to both the connoisseur and casual collector. Reinert Fine Art is pleased to present a collection of paintings and sculptures that range in style from traditional to contemporary.
Reinert Fine Art has two locations in Charleston: 179 King St. boasts an outside courtyard and sculpture garden gallery, offering fine art in bronze, while 202 King St. features fine contemporary works and artisan jewelry.
In June 2019, Reinert will open a new summer studio on Ocean Point Road in the beautiful town of East Boothbay, Maine. He is looking forward to enjoying and painting the wealth of interesting and diverse landscapes the region offers. Friends and collectors are invited to stop by when in the area.
REINERT FINE ART
843.694.2445
REINERTFINEART.COM
STUDIO 151 FINE ARTS
Located near the corner of Church and Market streets, Studio 151 is filled from floor to ceiling with pieces from more than 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, and mixed media from Colleen Wiessmann, Lu Bentley, Sandy Scott, Detta Zimmerman, Rosie Phillips, Jennifer Koach, Amelia Whaley, Dixie Dugan, Nancy Davidson, Debra Paysinger, Christie Crosby, Nancey R. Rushing, Kelly Meredith Paysinger Hart, and jewelers Lissa Block and Jean Norman.
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 in-house 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
SHEILA PRINGLE
Sheila Pringle started painting before most children learn to read. Says the Charleston-based artist: “I started at 3. When I was 5 my mother took me to the Corcoran School of Arts and lied about my age. I studied there until I was 15.”
Decades later, Pringle continues to practice her craft, though her path was not without obstacles. After studying and working as a landscape architect, Pringle started a family. A few years later doctors discovered a brain tumor in her frontal lobe. During recovery, Pringle returned to her passion, and found that art was a huge part of her healing process. “The first day they gave me medicine I started painting. Researchers have found that more parts of the brain are used when painting than when performing brain surgery,” she explains.
After studying with artists such as Amelia Rose Smith, Pringle soon joined Perspective Gallery. Her artwork is mainly figurative. “I enjoy painting people. I paint them as I find them, scenes from around here, mostly kids, skateboarders, surfers, swimmers, people enjoying outdoor life … It’s life in South Carolina,” she says.
View Pringle’s work on her website or in person at Perspective Gallery, located at 1055 Johnnie Dodds Blvd. in Mount Pleasant.
SHEILA PRINGLE
843.696.8537
TALKINGTREESGALLERY.COM
REVEALED ART GALLERY
Since its opening in 2016, Revealed Art Gallery has solidified itself as a local hub of culture and creativity. The dynamic gallery space showcases an eclectic mix of artists and mediums, ranging from paintings, sculptures and photographs to handmade jewelry, bags and furniture. Currently, works from more than 20 local and regional artists and artisans are on display.
Founders Jaclyn Quilal-lan and Scott Parsons enjoy the contrast their contemporary art gallery, located in the French Quarter just steps from Charleston’s iconic Dock Street Theatre, brings to its historical surroundings. The longtime friends and art enthusiasts also strive to foster connections with the community, through workshops, classes, events, private rentals, brand collaborations and more.
Revealed Art Gallery is located at 119 Church St. and open Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from 12 to 4 p.m. Note that in July the gallery is open by appointment only. For more information about upcoming events, visit revealedgallery.com.
REVEALED ART GALLERY
843.872.5606
REVEALEDGALLERY.COM
BEN HAM IMAGES
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 oldfashioned— 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 explains what inspired him to capture them.
Visit Ben Ham’s Charleston gallery at 416 King St. or his new gallery in historic Old Town Bluffton at 210 Bluffton Road.
BEN HAM IMAGES
843.410.1495 (CHARLESTON)
843.815.6200 (BLUFFTON)
BENHAMIMAGES.COM
PERSPECTIVE GALLERY
The Mount Pleasant Artist’s Guild, founded in 1996, opened its first retail art gallery in May 2017. Perspective Gallery is one of the largest, most diverse galleries in the Lowcountry. Featuring more than 40 artists, the gallery has something to appeal to everyone, including watercolors, oil paintings, acrylic and mixed-media pieces, fine art photography, pastels and more. Genres include traditional landscape, contemporary realist still life, figurative studies, abstract and nonrepresentational color pieces, and anything you or the Guild’s artists can imagine.
Artists at Perspective have won scores of awards throughout their careers and studied with many of the country’s most renowned artists; many are art instructors themselves. The gallery’s knowledgeable team enjoys working with clients and interior designers. You will always meet at least one of the artists when you stop in, as they staff the gallery every day, and you’ll often catch them painting at the gallery.
Perspective Gallery is a great place to decompress and relax in a no-pressure environment. It is located at 1055 Johnnie Dodds Blvd. in the Crickentree Village Plaza and open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
PERSPECTIVE GALLERY
843.800.5025
MPAGPERSPECTIVEGALLERY.COM
