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"Nature Reconsidered" and "Trail" 2020
TRAIL_Shirley Brutko Butterfly & Bloom_photo

"Nature Reconsidered" art competition and "Trail" photography competition opened this week at Southern Arts Society in Kings Mountain. Both are judged shows with cash prizes.

"Nature Reconsidered" is an art exhibition and competition sponsored by Southern Arts Society that aims to explore the ever-changing relationship between humans and nature. Artists were asked to create work that references, investigates, challenges, and/or celebrates our relationship with the natural world. There is a wide variety of media featured in the show - painting (oil, watercolor, acrylic, pastel), drawing, glass, photography and mixed media. Twenty-five artists from around the region entered 57 pieces of work for this years exhibit. Entries are down for this show, primarily due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but the quality of the work is still impressive to see.

The "TRAIL" photography competition is sponsored by the Kings Mountain Gateway Trail and Southern Arts Society. This exhibit features photos taken on the Gateway Trail over the past two years. Photographers walked the trail in all types of weather to seek out flora and fauna to photograph for a chance to win a cash award. There are 27 entries from 11 photographers in this show. The butterfly garden at the top of the Gateway Trail is a prime spot for great photos and is well represented in this show. Much of the trail is surrounded by trees which requires photographers to be patient and search out interesting wildlife to capture on film.

Judging both shows is Myles Calvert, Assistant Professor in Fine Arts at Winthrop University, South Carolina. Mr. Calvert was born in Collingwood, Ontario. He attended the University of Guelph with a focus in printmaking, before travelling to London, UK where he completed his MA in Printmaking, at Camberwell College of Art (University for the Arts, London). Major bodies of work included installations of screen printed toast and the idolization of popular British celebrity culture. During this time, he worked for the National Portrait Gallery before moving to Hastings in East Sussex, to teach printmaking at Sussex Coast College and become Duty Manager of the newly built Jerwood Gallery (Hastings Contemporary). Myles' toast-based work continued with a 43000 slice installation during the Queen's 'Diamond Jubilee' with college students, drawing BBC media attention, and culminated in two solo exhibitions before making a return to the University of Guelph to teach. 2019 residencies included Art Print Residence (Barcelona, Spain) and Proyecto'ace (Buenos Aires, Argentina), as well as a lecture/workshop at PUCP (Pontificia Universidad Catòlica del Perú) in Lima.

Awards for both competitions will be announced virtually October 10th on the website and Facebook page of Southern Arts Society.

"Nature Reconsidered" and Trail" will be on display in the galleries of Southern Arts Society through November 6, 2020. Visitors are asked to please wear a mask and practice social distancing while visiting the gallery.

Southern Arts Society (SASi) Gift Shop & Gallery is located at 301 N. Piedmont Avenue in the historic Southern Railway Depot, at the intersection of Piedmont and Battleground. SASi offers a gift shop, ongoing exhibits, programs and classes in a variety of media for artists of all levels. Hours: Tues, Wed, Thurs and Sat, 10 am to 2 pm and by Appointment. Admission is Free. For more information please visit www.SouthernArtsSociety.org, or their Facebook page. Contact 704.739.5585 or email SouthernArtsSociety@gmail.com.


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