Charleston, SC Charleston Place Hotel, February 15-17
This story was featured in the February 2019 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art February 2019 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.
EACH YEAR thousands of art aficionados and nature lovers from around the country flock to the Southeastern Wildlife Expo in Charleston, SC, to see a sprawling exhibition of wildlife, landscape, and sporting art. The 100 fine artists who take part are an annually evolving mix of world-renowned, mid-career, and emerging talents whose paintings, sculptures, and carvings have garnered the attention of everyone from ornithologists to beekeepers to hunters to fishermen. That’s because the artists tend to be well-versed in their subject matter, notes SEWE art curator Natalie Henderson. “So many of these artists study what they’re portraying—they are out there in nature, not just Googling their references,” she says.
The 37th annual exhibition opens to general-admission ticket holders on Friday, February 15, at the Charleston Place Hotel, but VIP ticket holders have access to exclusive previews on Thursday from 1 to 5 p.m. and on Friday and Saturday from 9 to 10 a.m. The Signature Gala and Sale, also VIP based, kicks off Thursday evening at 7 p.m. with hors d’oeuvres, cocktails, and a spirited live auction where an assortment of art is up for bid, including LITTLE HAVOC by this year’s featured artist, sought-after sporting painter Lou Pasqua.
Artworks remain on view and for sale through Sunday, and the artists are on hand to mingle with visitors throughout the weekend. Among the group are two guest artists, sculptors Walter Matia and Sandy Scott, and past featured artists Ezra Tucker and Kathryn Mapes Turner. New participants this year include painters D. Eleinne Basa, Nicholas Coleman, Vickie McMillan-Hayes, and Ryan Kirby. “Ryan lives in the mountains of North Carolina and has a really close connection to the outdoors and to the National Wild Turkey Federation,” says Henderson. “It’s a great example of how many of our artists are tightly connected with different conservation efforts.”
Visitors can watch the artists in action during a Quick Draw on Friday at Charleston Place, where they race to complete a painting or sculpture in just one hour. The event lineup is also filled with ancillary auctions, a wildlife lecture series, cooking demonstrations, and animal presentations by experts and luminaries in the field. Of course, the heart and soul of SEWE is the art, enthuses Henderson, adding, “The exhibition creates this renewed sense of excitement for the beauty that surrounds us.” —Kim Agricola
contact information843.723.1748www.sewe.com
This story was featured in the February 2019 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art February 2019 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.
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