The City of North Charleston’s Cultural Arts Department is pleased to announce that works by local artist Linda Elksnin will be on exhibit at the North Charleston City Gallery from May 3-11, 2013. Elksnin, winner of the 2013 North Charleston Arts Festival Design Competition, will display works on canvas and paper, including her winning piece, ‘A’ Train. The public will have the opportunity to meet the artist at the gallery during the North Charleston Arts Festival Main Event on May 4, from 10:00am to 4:00pm, and May 5, from 2:00pm to 5:00pm. Posters and t-shirts featuring her winning design will be available for purchase.

Elksnin is known for her use of bright color and graphically pleasing design. She uses a variety of media in her abstract work, including watercolor, gouache, acrylic, colored pencil, graphite, and fabric. Her inspiration comes from such eclectic sources as mola cut fabric art, Australian aboriginal paintings, self-taught and outsider artists from around the world, as well as mainstream artists such as Mark Rothko and Romare Bearden.

Born in Pennsylvania, Linda’s passion for art began in elementary school when she took classes at the Philadelphia College of Art. After receiving her BFA in Illustration from Syracuse University, her career path took a different turn when she taught art to children with disabilities. After earning master’s and doctoral degrees in special education from the University of Virginia, Elksnin came to The Citadel to coordinate the special education graduate program. She retired in 2006 as Professor Emerita and returned to painting full time at her home in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina. Linda’s work has been shown throughout the southeast in galleries and at juried art shows and festivals. She was awarded Honorable Mention for the Cooper River Bridge Run Poster Design Contest in 1998, as well as the Art in the Park Juried Outdoor Exhibit in Blowing Rock, NC, in 2008. Most recently, her work was selected for an Award of Merit at the Art Market at Honeyhorn in Hilton Head, SC, and as the official poster image of the 2012 Piccolo Spoleto Festival Poster Design Contest.

The North Charleston City Gallery is located in the Charleston Area Convention Center with free parking and admission during regular Convention Center operating hours 9:00am-5:00pm, daily.  Inquiries regarding the artist or purchase information may be directed to the North Charleston Cultural Arts Department at (843) 740-5854. For information on additional exhibits, programs, and events, visit the Cultural Arts section of the City’s website at http://bit.ly/culturalarts. For information about the North Charleston Arts Festival visit NorthCharlestonArtsFest.com.