They’re here! Treasures from the National Music Museum – The Utley Collection of Brass Instruments. Weird, Wonderful and who knows what.

Seven Centuries; a musical tour like no other. Visitors will see & hear important keyboard examples and will be surprised & delighted to encounter not only the instruments known to Bach, Beethoven, & Chopin, but keyboards of a type used by ‘The Animals’, ‘Led Zeppelin’, & TV show themes such as Seinfeld and others!

Tuesday – Saturday, 10am – 5pm

Sunday, 1-5 pm

Sculptor and painter Matthew Clay Baumgardner of Travelers Rest, South Carolina, passed away last year, but his art stands as a memorial to his work as it goes on display in the James B. Duke Library through March 2020.

The exhibition is free and open to the public.

The exhibition, “Matthew Baumgardner Cubes,” features dozens of his cube works, paintings and other artifacts that reflect his process and provide an introduction to his career. Presented by the Furman Department of Art and Special Collections and Archives, the exhibition was organized by students enrolled in ART 281: Curatorial Issues and Practice, a course taught by Furman art historian Sarah Archino.

Archino says the estate of Baumgardner approached the art department due to the mutual respect between retired Furman art professor Michael Brodeur and Baumgardner. “I think [the estate] was looking for an institution with students that could undertake the type of research and writing that was necessary for the project,” she adds.

Born in Ohio in 1955, Baumgardner’s professional career began in the 1970s, while studying under South Carolina artists Carl Blair, Emery Bopp and Darell Koons. In 1982, he earned his MFA in painting from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In 1983, he moved to New York City, where most of his work was created. During that time, he had a family and watched his career climb to new heights.

Baumgardner was awarded a national Visual Arts Fellowship in Painting by the National Endowment for the Arts in 1993 for his birch plywood series, which employed his signature technique of embedded glyphs in multiple layers of pigmented gypsum.

During his 22-year stint in New York, his artwork was exhibited in 14 solo and over 30 group shows, including at internationally known galleries Charles Cowles (New York), Edward Thorp (New York), Jeffrey Coploff (New York), Carrie Secrist (Chicago), and Galerie Marie-Louise Wirth (Zurich, Switzerland), among others.

Baumgardner relocated in 2006 to Travelers Rest where he designed and built a home/work studio on an acre of land, and worked until his death in November 2018.

“Matt’s work looks effortless, but it came at a high personal price,” says Brodeur, who admires Baumgardner’s work. “It’s lushness and ravishing beauty belie the struggle and pain that often reside within the creative artist.”

Said to be “deeply spiritual,” according to his survivors, Baumgardner once described his art this way: “My work imparts a transformative experience that resonates with my longings to channel universal and spiritual planes; I want to transport the spirit, to remind us all that we are perfect beings passing through a transient world. My soul craves expression through poetic and timeless art that beckons the viewer to return time and again to find renewal and fresh experiences.”

The Special Collections and Archives gallery is located on the second floor of the Duke Library, and is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., or by appointment.

In the coming weeks, works by Baumgardner will be featured in the main display cases in the Roe Art Building, forming an auxiliary exhibition. The Roe Art Building is open to the public 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday through Friday. For more information, contact sarah.archino@furman.edu.

Originally scheduled for Monday, March 16 at 5:30 P.M. in the Gunter Theatre of the Peace Center, the 2019 MAC annual meeting and the TD Bank Business and the Arts Partnership Awards presentation have been postponed indefinitely.  A new date will be announced in early April.  This was a tough but wise decision, and we look forward to celebrating MAC’s amazing success in 2019 with you in the near future.

Originally scheduled for Friday, March 20 from 6:30 – 9:00 P.M. here at MAC, the opening reception for Alan – A MAC Exhibit has been postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus.  The safety of our constituents is of utmost importance to us, and we look forward to rescheduling this event in the near future.

Sponsored by TD Bank

Exhibit Reception: TBD

March 2 – April 30, 2020

Metropolitan Arts Council member artists came together to create a special tribute honoring one of Greenville’s most dynamic arts leaders, MAC Executive Director Alan Ethridge. The show celebrates Alan’s 60th birthday and 17th year at MAC, while reflecting on the impact he has bestowed on artists, friends of the arts, and the local community.

Metropolitan Arts Council
16 Augusta Street | Greenville, SC 29601
(864) 467-3132 | greenvilleARTS.com

March 13 – May 8, 2020

Opening Reception: Friday, March 13, 2020 | 6:30 – 9:00 p.m.

The human face and form have always been my greatest inspiration. For me there is nothing more exciting than seeing the person emerge from the canvas, feeling their soul through their eyes.

It has been great fun and liberating to embellish them with a variety of elements including metals, paper, fabric, and acrylics. All of my paintings begin with oils, adding layer after layer of oils and cold wax. With the edition of the elements I have mentioned some of my work would now be considered mixed media. When engaged in painting a landscape a more peaceful feeling is with me.

Many times, the fluidity of the oils lead me through the painting without total awareness. The is my restful state.

Featuring the works of Jean Wilson Freeman and Jessica Fields. The gallery is open to the public during the center’s business hours.

Searching for life means searching for water. Our planet is covered in vast oceans and yet water is not always available. It is destructive. It hides secrets. It is mysteriously kept; running rivers, rising and falling tides. We run through sprinklers and jump in pools. Rising to the surface of calming and playful waters, our “aqua vitae” is feeding our bodies what it needs to survive.

Aqua Vitae explores the many facets of water and our relationship to it. This show features original choreography from nine different dance artists located throughout the United States all based around an idea of water and its experience in life.

Join us for the longest-running poetry showcase in South Carolina, celebrating 17 years! Wits End’s Say What Sundays Poetry Events are at Coffee Underground at 7:30 pm in Downtown Greenville every Sunday night (excluding major holidays and Super Bowl Sunday – see website for details on events).

Each event features touring poets from across the southeast, poetry slams, plus our weekly open mic. Founded by Kimberly Simms. Hosts include Moody Black, Jencie Pleasant, and Black Phoenix plus DJ Southern Stylz. 1 E. Coffee Street. All poetry styles welcome. Wits End is a 501(c)3 Charity.

Shows often sell out, so get their early or buy tickets at Eventbrite! http://witsendpoetry.eventbrite.com. (Click on pictures for a link to tickets on Eventbrite).

Follow our social media @witsendpoetry across all platforms. Produced by Wits End Poetry, these poetry events are made possible in part by the generous support of the South Carolina Arts Commission and the Metropolitan Arts Council. More information at www.witsendpoetry.com.(864) 298-0494

We are pleased to announce the third installment of Foothills Philharmonic’s Future Stars Scholarship Competition. This competition is designed to provide a student musician the unique opportunity to perform as a soloist with a symphony orchestra. Both rising high school juniors and seniors are invited to apply: string, woodwind, brass, percussion players, and pianists- are all welcome. Winners of the competition will win a $1000 scholarship and perform as a featured soloist on our second Masterworks concert of the 2021-2022 season. The Application period opens on MArch 30, and will close on October 1 at midnight.