The Department of Fine Arts sponsors the Art Gallery Series in the Hyman Fine Arts Center’s Adele Kassab Art Gallery, hosting varied shows of two and three dimensional works showcasing local and regional artists.
The Art Gallery Curator selects exhibitions that support and enhance the academic goals of the visual arts program at Francis Marion University, providing a non-profit institutional setting in the service of both students and the wider community.
Interested in having your work (or another artist’s work) considered for exhibition? Please use the Adele Kassab Gallery Submissions Form.
Information about previous exhibits may be found in Kassab Art Gallery Archive and additional exhibitions are displayed downtown at FMU’s University Place Steven F. Gately Gallery.
Written in Moments by Jessica Willis
Kassab Gallery, Hyman Fine Arts Center
May 9 – August 10, 2024
8:30 am – 5:00 pm, Monday-Thursday
“We learn the value and process of narrative from the stories around us, often starting with fairy tales and epic quests. When applying the art of storytelling to our own lives we find that the epic is made up of a thousand tiny moments. Moments where we find meaning, or where meaning finds us.”
Jess is an SC born and based artist who works across disciplines and mediums but is always interested in one thing. The story, and how it’s told.
Thinking of You by Emily Furr
Kassab Gallery, Hyman Fine Arts Center
August 13 – September 17, 2024
8:30 am – 5:00 pm, Monday-Friday
Emily Furr is an oil painter from Charleston, South Carolina. She earned her Master of Fine Arts degree from University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a BFA from Winthrop University. Furr’s work centers around feelings of sentimentality and an embracing of play. Her art reflects a vibrant, vivid palette that encourages curiosity and exploration. Emily’s oil paintings demonstrate a unique, sculptural approach to the medium, utilizing shaped substrates that are layered and combined to methodically express her own narratives.
“Thinking of You presents a personal and introspective body of work, delving into the intricacies of emotional connections and the complexities of relationships with oneself and with others. Through a sculptural approach to oil painting, vibrant and layered narratives are crafted that invite viewers to contemplate the inner landscapes of their own emotional bonds.”
Cradled In Between by Chen Gao
Kassab Gallery, Hyman Fine Arts Center
August 13 – September 17, 2024
8:30 am – 5:00 pm, Monday-Friday
Chen Gao is an interdisciplinary artist and designer based in Hartsville, SC, and Detroit, MI, USA. She received her MFA degree in 2D Design at Cranbrook Academy of Art, USA. Currently, Gao serves as the assistant professor of art at Coker University, SC, USA. She used to teach graphic design at the School of Art + Design at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, USA.
Her work has taken many shapes, including film photography, experimental graphic design, free drawing, sound, poetic writing, installation, performance, and land art. She tends to work with local materials to build relationships between herself and the outside environment through different times and spaces. Even though she is not performing the work, the work is performed themselves. This is all about her emotional life of being. She is not creating a form but finding a sense of belonging in the voids to connect the self to the outside world. She believes that personal expression connects to human society. Standing up for who she is is empowering others. When the audience is ready, they’re ready to join in at any time.
Making work is the way of finding myself.
I couldn’t stop making it because I couldn’t live without it.
My work is all about the emotional life of being.
I like to work with my intuition first and then discover the hidden traces behind it.
Instincts never hide what they did or think, which is more sincere than mine.
Each material has their personalities.
I tend to feel the material first, become familiar with them, and finally work together to make the work.
I am always wondering about the reason each thing happened.
Unknowns give me fear, so I want to uncover things behind them.
The world of life has many different sides.
While some are like wonderlands, while others lead toward inevitable constraints.
I feel like I’m standing on the edge of the boundary; they are infinite.
No matter where I stand, I always want to pursue the other side.
There are so many unknowns waiting for me to explore.
They contain and aspire me to move forward but also increase my fear.
I am not creating a form but finding a sense of belonging in these v o i d s.
Fine Arts Day @ Francis Marion University
Hyman Fine Arts Center Plaza
September 13, 2024
10:00 am – 2:00 pm Friday
Department of Fine Arts faculty and students will showcase skills in printmaking, collage making, image transfer and other arts techniques, with opportunities for visitors to join in and MAKE SOMETHING!
Seeing Light: 19th Century Photography Techniques by Angela Frank Wells
Kassab Gallery, Hyman Fine Arts Center
September 19 – October 24, 2024
8:30 am – 5:00 pm, Monday-Friday
Angela Franks Wells is a photography-based artist specializing in 19th century photographic processes. As an educator, she is committed to facilitating creative thinking and skilled making with her students. Her recent creative endeavors are about playful investigation and finding levity. Angela is an Associate Professor of Photography at East Carolina University in Greenville, NC. where she enjoys the lush greenery of the south, proper weather storms, and the benefits of natural humidity in the studio.
“I find myself mesmerized by the little gifts that show up on my porch or in my yard. Artifacts of life that are ever present but often overlooked. I began collecting these treasures and taking a much closer look at them. The evaluation process continued to delve deeper as I got closer and closer via a flatbed scanner as camera. The images reflect this inspection; the pause in the hustle of the daily grind to stop and discover. Chromoskedasic is Greek for ‘color by light scattering.’ The Chromoskedasic Sabatier printing method produces a full spectrum of colors through chemical and light reaction. The process is difficult to control or reproduce and I’ve found it to be liberating in that it encourages play and experimentation. By combining these two elements, I can craft a unique print that expresses the wonder and delight of seeing the little things, making art, and adding levity to my creative practice.”
Chemigrams in 3D by Bridget Conn
Kassab Gallery, Hyman Fine Arts Center
September 23 – November 7, 2024
8:30 am – 5:00 pm, Monday-Friday
Bridget Conn is a photographic artist who explores the potential of photography as a chemical and physical medium through the creation of chemigrams. Dealing with themes of societal struggles, awe and wonder, challenges in communication, digitized vs. physical encounters, and the importance of making and admitting mistakes, Conn investigates the boundaries of photography with prints, wall installations, and sculptural works. She received her BFA from Tulane University and MFA from the University of Georgia. She currently resides in Nashville, Indiana, USA.
“Through the approach of experimental analog photography, my work concerns societal struggles, awe and wonder, challenges in communication, digitized vs. physical encounters, and the importance of making and admitting mistakes. My aesthetics span gesture, intuitive mark-making, written language, and non-traditional portraiture, forged by cameraless photographic processes. Formally I work in image-based prints, collages, sculptural wall pieces, and three-dimensional installation. Celebrating the object that is silver gelatin paper, I construct many of my works with thread to emphasize its physical significance. I employ this materiality to spotlight the negative side-effects of my society’s increasingly-digitized experience of the world. Embracing their unpredictability and playfulness, I view cameraless processes as my method of combatting personal battles with anxiety, and of addressing my country’s wider epidemic of unease.”
Graduating Senior Shows
Unapologetic by Amy Rowzee
Golden Hour by Madeline Severeance
Kassab Gallery, Hyman Fine Arts Center
November 14 – December 10, 2024
8:30 am – 5:00 pm, Monday-Friday
Amy Rowzee is a 2024 Candidate for a BA in Fine Arts, concentrating in Painting from Francis Marion University. Her thesis work challenges societal beauty standards and her personal lived experiences with weight bias through mixed media paintings. Her work has been shown in university galleries and at the High Museum in Atlanta, GA. In 2022/2023, she was the recipient of the Francis Marion Visual Art Scholarship. Currently, she is working as an intern at FMU Steven F. Gately Gallery in Florence, SC and living with her husband and children in Hartsville, SC.
“Unapologetic is a call to reconsider the judgments imposed on women’s bodies, encouraging a broader acceptance of beauty and pleasure in all forms.”
Madeline Severance is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Visual Art with a concentration in photography at Francis Marion University. With a minor in computer science, she is currently exploring various career options in image-based media or technology. Much of their photographic work focuses on their family and home in the Pee Dee area, or otherwise attempting to elevate mundane scenery and objects into art. Madeline currently resides in Darlington, South Carolina.
“Golden Hour is a series of photos conceptualized during a stressful time in my personal life in the summer of 2024. Every day, I would go on a walk by myself through my neighborhood around 7pm when the sun would start to set to have time to relax. As the sun was setting, I would catch glimpses of the light hitting objects, trees, and houses in a beautiful way that captured my attention and made me appreciate the scenery close to home. The photos are sequenced in the order the locations would be seen on my walk and are displayed in a circle to mimic that route.”
Common Ground by Katherine Rumminger
Kassab Gallery, Hyman Fine Arts Center
January 7 – February 20, 2025
8:30 am – 5:00 pm, Monday-Friday
Gallery Talk 1:00 pm on Thursday, February 20
Katherine Rumminger grew up in Piedmont, South Carolina and attended Wren High School. Her passion for art and creating grew throughout her primary and secondary school years. She earned her Bachelor of Fine Art degree in May 2021 and her Master of Fine Art degree in May 2024, both from Lander University. Katherine specializes in sculpture and continues to create artwork that involves commonplace, representational forms constructed out of steel. She loves to teach and has taught Art Foundations classes at Lander University. When she is not creating in the studio or teaching, she enjoys traveling, spending time in nature, and going to cultural events. You can follow her on Instagram @katherine_rumminger
“Common Ground is a collection of handmade steel and mixed media sculptures depicting familiar imagery in uncanny ways. Objects such as a clock, a compass, a pillow, and a teacup are surrealistically configured, forming metaphors about interpersonal relationships and day-to-day life. Through Common Ground I seek to better understand myself and relate to others. Through common objects I seek common ground.”
Dueling Identities by Haleigh Lennox Brewer
Kassab Gallery, Hyman Fine Arts Center
January 7 – February 20, 2025
8:30 am – 5:00 pm, Monday-Friday
Gallery Talk 12:30 pm on Wednesday, February 19 Cancelled due to weather
Haleigh Brewer is a North Carolina based photographer who uses her medium to explore narratives through visual stories. Her work delves into the intersections of personal and collective experiences, capturing the nuances of human emotion, interactions, and relationships through her lens. Her most recent work, Dueling Identities: An Exploration Within and Beyond Twinship, explores the relationship with her identical twin sister. Haleigh graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2020 with a BFA in Studio Art and a minor in Global Cinema. Haleigh received her MFA in Studio Art with an emphasis in Photography from East Carolina University in 2024. Currently, Haleigh shares her passion for photography as a teaching instructor at East Carolina University and Pitt Community College.
“Being an identical twin, I struggle to find my individuality outside of my twinship. The bond I have with my sister is unmatched to any relationship in this life. People often
neglect to view me as a separate person within my twin relationship. I feel conflicted about possessing aspects that pertain to me that are not within my twinship. I have faced many challenges on my own which has helped me to understand and accept that I am strong enough to navigate this world independently. While I love being an identical twin and sharing the same interests in many things, at the same time, I want to be my own person. I explore these tensions by making photographs with the use of still-life to symbolize aspects of our relationship. My research explores how twins are depicted and treated in society and how the challenges of being a twin are overlooked. Our relationship is far more intricate than many choose to understand. Growing up as identical twins, we were expected to be the same and independence was not encouraged. This body of work aims to confront these issues and bring awareness to the complexities of twin identity and twin relationships; and to expand the conversation of this underrepresented topic. These photographs speak to the broader challenges of defining oneself.”
Life Consuming
by Lindsey Cherek Waller
& Grace Wallstead
Kassab Gallery, Hyman Fine Arts Center
February 25 – April 3, 2025
8:30 am – 5:00 pm, Monday-Friday
Artist Gallery Lectures 1:30pm February 25, 2025
Lindsey Cherek Waller (they/she) is a queer, non-binary artist who centers pleasure and joy. Through portraits and still life paintings, Cherek Waller envisions a future beyond binaries—encouraging us to take up space, embrace play and imagine the possibilities to construct a better world.
Cherek Waller operates their own business as a full time artist, and has partnered with Urban Outfitters, CB2, and more. They have experience exhibiting their work around the US, including in Los Angeles, New York City, and Minneapolis. Cherek Waller has been awarded grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board, PFund, and Forecast Public Art. They were also selected as the mural artist for the Center of Visual Arts’ Landmark Mural project in Wausua, Wisconsin, which was completed in August, 2024. Cherek Waller earned her BFA from the University of Wisconsin-Stout, spent her early-career in rural Minnesota, and currently lives and works in Charlotte, North Carolina. lindseycherek.com
Grace Wallstead (she/her) is an interdisciplinary artist currently based in Indiana. Wallstead works as a fine jewelry salesperson to fuel her creative endeavors. Her work has been exhibited nationally and included in numerous traveling exhibitions. Wallstead has been awarded travel and research grants, recognized by the Society of Arts and Letters, and spoken at the Midwest Radical Jewelry Makeover conference. She graduated from University of Wisconsin-Stout in 2021 and went on to complete her master’s degree from Indiana University-Bloomington in 2024 for Metalsmithing and Jewelry Design.
“My work is focused on elevating everyday experiences to acknowledge that life should not be taken for granted. These experiences are represented through traditional and modern metalsmithing skills with an emphasis on stone setting, enamel, glass, and gold to reflect the beauty, fragility, and value of life. My outlook and gratitude of life was drastically changed by a near-death medical experience; I found more importance in personal development and happiness, especially in the mundane routines of life. By recognizing that life is precarious, we can choose to make it count.”
