Beyond the Rainbow
Free to the public.
Opening Reception – Thursday May 26th 6:30p – 9:30p
On view May 26–June 12 2016
Fletcher Williams III is pleased to present Beyond The Rainbow, his second solo exhibition since returning to Charleston, S.C. in 2013.
Chicora Cherokee sits between Williams’ Park Circle studio and historic downtown Charleston. By outsiders, it’s a community often regarded as distressed, impoverished, and unsafe, but locals protest there’s a lack of resources, like grocery stores, health care facilities, and social services, only available to most newly developed regions of Charleston. Chicora’s a neighborhood whose relationship with law enforcement has long been tarnished and was further degraded by the shooting death of Walter Scott by a North Charleston Police Officer in April of 2015.
The condition of the neighborhood is not often noticed and has seeped into Williams’ latest works.
Using a collection of materials found throughout the Chicora neighborhood—scrap wood from new builds, fencing, furniture, and metal—Williams constructs a pseudo Chicora, an environment both spirited and lifeless. Shingles become moss. Abstract drawings become three-dimensional facades for small-scale homes. A life-size sculpture titled, “Left Out To Dry”, asserts abandonment and marginalization. Most works have been left colorless, void of the vibrant spectrum inherit of the Charleston architectural landscape and its historical landmarks like Rainbow Row. For Williams, color only enters the conversation through the appropriation of audacious, automotive paint jobs on box Chevys and Crown Victorias.
Beyond The Rainbow is a combination of environment, sentiment, popular culture and historical motifs, because an understanding of all is necessary in the complexity of Charleston’s shifting social landscape.
Works from Souvenir 2015 will also be on display.
MORE INFO:
https://www.facebook.com/events/569030663289642/
