I am pleased to be showing alongside these talented artists for the upcoming exhibit Renewal at Pate Studio & Gallery in Greenville, SC.
2020 was a whirlwind, but it’s almost over and I feel beautiful things on the horizon. The group exhibition Renewal explores the fresh uplifting essence of a new beginning. Seasons change, and so do we as we embrace the open space of what is yet to emerge. A new year can be symbolic of a new start, the clear vision to begin again and imagine the world as we hope to see it, as simple joys unfold.
Join us Friday December 4 from 6-9 pm for an opening reception (socially distanced and with masks) at Pate Studio & Gallery. The exhibition will include a diverse yet cohesive collection of paintings, prints, collages, home decor and scarves. The gallery is located at 406 B Cedar Lane Rd. across from the Swamp Rabbit Cafe. Please RSVP to fotinipaintings@gmail.com if you plan to attend the opening reception. The work will be on view in the gallery by appointment through January 15 and will also be online. Stay tuned for a series of virtual gallery talks.
To make a gallery appointment please contact Fotini Christophillis at fotinipaintings@gmail.com.
We look forward to seeing you!
About the Artists
Fotini Christophillis
Fotini Christophillis is a painter based in New York, NY currently spending this quarantine period in her hometown of Greenville, SC. She has a MFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts/Tufts University 2016 and BA in Studio Art and Arts Management from the College of Charleston 2008. She has exhibited her work at the Redux Contemporary Art Center, the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art, and the Lambert Gray Gallery in Charleston, SC and at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, MA.
”Currently during this lockdown, I have been producing a series of floral paintings titled, "Springtime is Happening", inspired by the blossoming springtime and vibrant color of my hometown in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. It was an unexpected turn of circumstances that brought me here, but I am finding myself waking up to the natural beauty that surrounds me and striving to capture this experience with a fresh perspective. In the midst of all that is happening, as everything in the world closes, I am reminded that springtime is happening, and there is hope.”
Instagram: @FotiniStudio
Vanessa Michalak
Vanessa Michalak grew up in Maine before relocating to Boston, MA where she lived and worked for over a decade. She earned her MFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts with a concentration in painting in 2013 and her BSN in nursing from the University of Maine in Orono in 2004. She was awarded the Massachusetts Cultural Council Fellowship in Painting in 2014 and her work was included in New American Paintings #110. Her work has been included in several exhibitions including the MFA National Competition, Juried by Asya Geisberg, First Street Gallery, New York, NY. She has also participated in numerous residencies, most notably, Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass Village, CO and PLAYA, in Summer Lake, Oregon. In 2016 she was the emerging artist in residence at Penn State, Altoona for the Spring semester. She currently lives and works in Gloucester, MA where she is delving into the history of plein air painting. She is a member of the Rocky Neck Art Colony and has exhibited locally at Jane Deering Gallery, Flatrocks Gallery and Charles Fine Arts. She is currently represented by Portland Art Gallery in Portland, Maine. She is an active volunteer at the Manship Artist Residency and participated as an artist in residence February 2020. This fall she introduced the “Dogtown Art Show,” an outdoor pop up exhibition displaying plein air works on site. Her show “Green Space” brought her collection of works inside at Jane Deering Gallery in April 2020 with video documentation of the outdoor event.
“This collection of works exists in part of a larger grouping of paintings that documented a summer spent close to home, plein air painting, in Gloucester, MA. Week after week I returned to the same field, chasing color and light and attending to the exuberance of nature. I began to understand these moments as “painting mediations” that offered me solace in these difficult months. Painting through observation allowed me to delight in the tiny miracles that nature continues to offer every day, lifting my spirits and renewing my energy. May these paintings do just that for you.”
Instagram: @VanessaAlysseMichalak
Grace Pouch
Grace Pate Pouch studied Art History at Davidson College, and later went to seminary for a Masters in ministry. Grace enjoys splitting her time between the two fields of Christian spiritual formation and art and design. She paints alongside her dad and brother at the Pate Studio & Gallery near the Swamp Rabbit Trail. The human form is Grace’s favorite subject matter, and she creates both realistic and abstract expressions of human figures. You can find Grace's work on Instagram @GracePouchArt.
Sasha Parfenova
Whimsical or serious, collage is the art of creating an image by assembling different materials onto a two-dimensional surface. Sasha Parfenova explores the art of collage making by creating hybrid compositions using bits and pieces of the natural world. Oftentimes the imagery is camouflaged on a loosely painted background. The elements are carefully arranged to create a painterly sense of depth inviting the viewer to discover details embedded in the pieces. Using her imagination and an eye for color, the random fruits, flowers, insects, and human forms are integrated into supernatural plants with growing lips and hands, or regally perched bird creatures. She sources her materials from natural science magazines and botanical illustrations.
Parfenova’s fascination with nature started at a young age when she was growing up in her native Siberia spending summers camping in the Altai mountains. As an adult, she continues to be inspired by the delicacy and fragility of the natural world.
Sasha Parfenova received her MFA from Tufts University and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in 2015.
Instagram: @SashaParfenova
Pate Studio & Gallery
408B Cedar Lane Road
Greenville, SC 29611
(864) 430-8122
Directions:
Head east on Buncombe St towards the Public Library and the Upcountry History Museum. Continue straight onto SC-183/Pete Hollis Blvd. Continue to follow SC-183. Pass the Swamp Rabbit Cafe on the left. The Pate Studio & Gallery is on the right. Parking for the event is available in the lane in front of the gallery and adjoining buildings, as well as in the parking lots at both ends of the block.