Artista Vista Kickoff Thursday, April 23

COLUMBIA, SC – Artista Vista, the Midlands’ most celebrated gallery crawl, returns from Thursday, April 23 – Saturday, April 25, 2015. Vista artists and galleries will open their doors from 5-9 p.m. Thursday, April 23 (for Art Night), and for regular gallery hours April 24 – 25 for this free, signature Vista gallery crawl.

Additionally, the Vista Guild will install another new public art sculpture called, “Cedars, Fog” by Vista artist Stephen Chesley. The sculpture is made of salvaged materials from the demolition of City Garage and the sculpture’s title references the rich heritage of South Carolina’s coast and has an acoustical element that alludes to the fog. An internal chime within the sculpture is tuned to replicate the bell of a coastal fog buoy, according to Chesley. The sculpture will be unveiled and dedicated on Thursday, April 23 at 5:30 p.m. during Artista Vista at its permanent home on Lady Street near Lincoln Street.

Across Lady Street from “Cedars, Fog,” Artista Vista galleries can take in “Connecting Volumes,” a sculpture by Klaus Hartmann and Reiner Mahrlein from Kaiserslautern, Germany, which was installed and unveiled at Artista Vista 2014.

In its 24th year, Artista Vista will feature regionally and nationally renowned artists, as well as local artists from the Midlands. Participating galleries will have performance art inside or near their location. Attendees can chat with gallery owners and artists while taking in paintings, sculpture, pottery and jewelry.

Participating Galleries and their Exhibitions

• City Art (1224 Lincoln Street): Solo exhibition of original works by Adrian Rhodes in the main gallery. Rhodes uses printmaking as the core of a mixed media practice and has shown her work throughout the Carolinas. Cindi Saad will also show and sell her handcrafted jewelry. Doug and Bunny Williams will play live music Thursday evening. Other City Art galleries will feature select regional artists.

• Ellen Taylor Interiors (1012 Gervais Street): Featuring new and original artworks for gallery artists Thursday – Saturday. Don Russo will play live music Thursday evening and Ellen Taylor Interiors will serve specialty cocktails and wine.

• if ART Gallery (1223 Lincoln Street): Exhibiting New monotypes by Columbia artist and Columbia College art professor Mary Gilkerson. Mary Gilkerson is a long-time mainstay of the Columbia art scene as an artist, art professor and art writer who teaches at Columbia College and is represented by if ART Gallery. In addition to the Gilkerson exhibition there will be work by approximately two dozen gallery artists on view Thursday-Saturday.

• Lewis + Clark (1001 Huger Street): “Empty Objects, Tin Things and Incandescence,” an exhibition of handmade lamps, dioramas, robot heads, chandeliers and more. Thursday evening, Lewis + Clark will serve “interesting beverages” by Art Bar. The exhibition will continue through May 30.

• One Eared Cow Glass (1001 Huger Street): Showing glass blowing demonstrations Thursday evening with regular gallery hours Friday and Saturday.

• Studio Cellar (912 Lady Street): Studio Cellar art instructors will display their artwork. Artista Vista attendees can also take in live painting and participate in a paint-along class at 7 p.m. on Thursday evening. The bar will be open Thursday-Saturday.

• Vista Studios/Gallery 80808 (808 Lady Street): Thursday evening watch studio artists participate in “Gossip.” Based on the children’s game of Gossip, where a phrase is secretly passed from one player to the next, the artists have used visual art in place of words. In partnership with the Columbia Museum of Art, the museum’s curator, Will South, chose a piece from the museum’s Charles Curran exhibit, which is currently on display. South shared this inspiration piece with the first Vista Studios artist only, who was given three weeks to create a work of art and pass the new piece to the next artist. Each artist had three weeks to complete a work inspired from the image received. Artista Vista attendees are invited to see these works by Vista Studios resident artists Eileen Blyth, Stephen Chesley, Heidi Darr-Hope, Pat Gilmartin, Robert Kennedy, Susan Lenz, Sharon Licata, Laurie McIntosh, Michel McNinch, Kirkland Smith, Laura Spong, David Yaghjian and visit their studios, which will be open.

“Our annual Artista Vista is a unique event that highlights so much talent in the Midlands and beyond,” said Sarah Lewis, executive director of the Vista Guild. “The Vista has a rich history that began with artists. Now many of these artists as well as talented fresh faces help run and facilitate Artista Vista each spring and it’s exciting to meet and mingle with these artists while enjoying their work.”

Artista Vista is free for attendees, and free parking is available in the Vista’s parking decks located on Lincoln Street near Lady, Park Street near Pendleton, and Lady Street near Wayne Street on Thursday, April 23 from 5 p.m. – 2 a.m.

The Vista, Columbia’s premier art neighborhood, has been a force in keeping the Midlands’ art scene thriving through the past three decades. The modern Vista has its roots in the 1980s when artists began to move their studios to the area’s affordable warehouse space. Today’s restaurants, shopping and nightlife in historic buildings in the Vista are still driven by the Vista’s art-filled history.

Stay tuned to www.ArtistaVista.com for event maps and plans as galleries finalize their Artista Vista shows and as the Vista Guild announces installation artists and sites complete gallery and installation exhibition information. For more information about the Vista, please visit www.VistaColumbia.com or call Sarah Lewis at (803) 269.5946. Follow the Vista Guild on Twitter, Instagram and on Facebook.