North Charleston Artist-in-Residence, Kristy Bishop, presents exhibit in January

The City of North Charleston’s Cultural Arts Department is pleased to announce that works by the City’s current Artist-in-Residence, Kristy Bishop, will be on exhibit at the North Charleston City Gallery from January 2-31, 2013. The public is invited to attend a free reception at the gallery hosted by the artist on Thursday, January 3, from 5pm-7pm.

In Wash Over You,Bishop presents fiber works composed of hand dyed silk that use color transition and gradient to translate emotions. The subtle changes in color gradation within each work represent the fluidity of emotion. Simple shapes such as circles, ovals, and rectangles are used to reflect the growth and expansion of a feeling. “This body of work is an expression of my desire for the viewer to see the sudden burst of emotion that inspires it,” she explains. 

The featured pieces are left untitled so that the emotions the artist experienced while making each piece do not necessarily influence the interpretation of the viewer. For example, Untitled (Blue Oval) is about Bishop’s personal sense of foreboding and helplessness. “During the creation of this work, these emotions were stemming from environmental and social issues that the world was/is facing at the time,” she says. “This led me to use the dark blues, purples, and grays that change to muted yellows, blues, and greens because I felt that they represented my own feelings of dread and uneasiness.” In the end, it is Bishop’s hope that individuals viewing this series allow themselves to feel whatever emotion it is that the colors elicit.

Kristy Bishop, originally from Charleston, received a BA in Studio Art with a concentration in painting from the College of Charleston in 2008. In the spring of 2009 she moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, where the beauty and fragility of the Mojave Desert became the primary inspiration for her paintings. It was in December of that year that Kristy began experimenting with fiber mediums, incorporating sewn and embroidered elements into her paintings. By the time she returned to Charleston in the summer of 2010, Kristy had made the transformation from painter to fiber artist.  Her most recent works are created solely from fabric, featuring hand-dyed silk that is cut, gathered, and sewn. Thousands of tiny pieces of fabirc are manipulated to create large scale abstract pieces. Bishop has participated in a number of group exhibitions, both locally and nationally, and is currently offering residencies to North Charleston schools and community groups as the City’s Artist-in-Residence.

The North Charleston City Gallery is situated in the common areas of the Charleston Area Convention Center, located at 5001 Coliseum Drive in North Charleston. Parking and admission are free during regular Convention Center operating hours, 9:00am – 5:00pm daily.  The gallery is staffed on Friday, Saturday, and Monday only.   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, Artist-in-Residence services, programs, and events, visit the Cultural Arts section of the City’s website at http://bit.ly/culturalarts.

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