COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL) — A community of artists gathered in Columbus last night. The Bo Bartlett Center’s opening reception for “Beyond Go Figure IV,” a community gallery featuring 107 local artists, welcomed 550 guests from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, June 29.
Yesterday marked the fourth year the Bo Bartlett Center has opened a “Beyond Go Figure” gallery to highlight local artists. According to Gallery Coordinator Joshua Newbend, 550 is the largest turnout for an opening night of “Beyond Go Figure” to date.
Gloria Mani, one of the featured painters, has been a professional artist locally for over 50 years.
She said, “This has been a dream, not only of mine, but many people in Columbus, for us to have place where the creatives can showcase their work. This place is incredible.”
The local artist paints scenes from nature, but explained she likes to exaggerate colors to give her pieces a “lyrical” quality.
“Beyond Go Figure IV” features work in a variety of mediums, from ceramics to screen prints, quilts and more.
Columbus State University (CSU) senior Campbell Eubanks and CSU Dec. 2022 graduate Benjamin Weldon perused the gallery together, chatting with other artists. Both were excited to have their work featured and hope to make careers as artists.
Eubanks’ ceramics piece was a fully-functional, ceramic French press set detailed with words from article headlines in a variety of fonts. Weldon had submitted a bold screen print depicting a cartoonish diner scene with pops of yellow and red.
“It’s a great way to get exposure, especially as a student,” said Eubanks, who noted it’s rare students get the opportunity to display their work for free.
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A corridor in the "Beyond Go Figure IV" exhibition. (Olivia Yepez) -
Campbell Eubanks poses with her ceramics. (Olivia Yepez) -
Gloria Mani described her paintings as having a "lyrical" quality. (Olivia Yepez) -
Benjamin Waldon with his screen print. (Olivia Yepez) -
Cathy Fussell ice-dyed her gallery "paintings." (Olivia Yepez)
As young people in the art world, Eubanks and Weldon reported feeling a bit nervous and excited about entering the art scene on a professional level.
“It is very nerve-wracking at first, but it’s always about persisting and staying consistent and making more work,” said Weldon.
He added a dedicated audience for his work would come with time and commitment. Campbell explained having a creative community helped take some of the nerves away.
According to Newbend, arranging 107 “extremely diverse” different was a challenge. As artists entered the gallery began wandering around, some noted how well everything flowed.
Newbend explained he arranged pieces with similar themes to create a sense of flow and cohesion. He said, “Maybe it’s the colors of the works, maybe it’s the fact that there’s a figure in it, maybe it’s the fact that two works are black and white, and then going from there and trying to find as many connections as possible.”
The resulting layout put art quilts, like one sewn by Cathy Fussell, near paintings and ceramics like Eubanks’.
Fussell’s quilt depicting an art gallery opening was decorated with silhouettes of Bo Bartlett Center visitors and “paintings” created by the artist with ice dyeing.
“I just really enjoy being a part of activities at the Bo Bartlett Center and also just being with other artists in this project,” said Fussell, whose husband also had work displayed.
The “Beyond Go Figure IV” exhibition will be open for viewing from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday until it closes on Aug. 12.
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