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Fox will highlight '...The Allure of Nature'

By Olivia Pool

Provided/Helena Fox Fine Art

'Eiders at Low Tide' by artist Kenn Backhaus (above) is part of the 'Still Life and the Allure of Nature' exhibition that opens Friday at Helena Fox Fine Art. Also participating in the exhibit will be artist Becky Parrish.

Friday, Helena Fox Fine Art, 12 Queen St., will open the gallery's new exhibit, "Still Life and the Allure of Nature," featuring paintings by nationally renowned artists Kenn Backhaus and Becky Parrish.

"This exhibition showcases paintings that exemplify the unity between man's arrangement of nature's gifts and nature's own arrangements," says Helena Fox, the gallery's owner.

Born and raised exploring the woods and lakes of Wisconsin, Backhaus has spent his artistic career depicting the beauty, truth and serenity of nature. He was raised in a farming family that understood the importance of the arts, nourishing and embracing their son's passion for artistic expression. Backhaus graduated from The Layton School of Art in 1973 and spent 10 years developing a successful career in design and illustration that garnered many national awards. Yet he yearned for the outdoors and a paintbrush. In 1984 he followed this calling with tremendous success. Since that time, Backhaus has become nationally recognized for his paintings and is featured in the PBS TV series, "Plein Air, Painting the Landscape."

Parrish burst onto the Washington, D.C., art scene in 1996 after receiving an MFA from George Washington University. Her still life were recognized for their gentle color harmonies and dynamic compositions.

"Parrish's still lifes are calculated and choreographed compositions of lyrical and colorful harmonies. She dedicated her artistic career to creating subtle compositions using nature's elements," says Fox.

Visit the gallery or call 723-0073 for more information.

Charleston Arts & Crafts Show

This weekend, there will be an Arts and Crafts Show at Wragg Square (just off Meeting Street).

The show will include exhibitions and sales of decorative, visual and fiber art, including painting, sculpture, glass, potter, jewelry, photography, mixed-media and more.

There also will be student exhibitions from the College of Charleston.

The event is free and will be held rain or shine from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday. For more information, call 239-530-8072 or e-mail, palmettoartshows@aol.com.

Green at Gibbes

On Saturday the Gibbes will open its new exhibition, "Seeking," which features the Jonathan Green painting of the same name.

Saturday, the Gibbes will host a celebratory dinner that officially kicks off "Jonathan Green Week," which runs through March 8. The dinner will give patrons the chance to meet the artist, preview the "Seeking" exhibition, listen to live jazz by some of Charleston's finest musicians and enjoy hors d'oeuvres and a three-course meal. The dinner will begin with a cocktail reception at 6:30 p.m., followed by dinner at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $150, a portion of which is tax-deductible.

From 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday, the Gibbes also will host a symposium on the artist and the Gullah culture titled "Seeking Roots; Finding Spirit." This symposium will bring together a collection of personalities to reflect on Green's work. These panelists include moderator Ronne Hartfield, Emory Shaw Campbell, Julia Norrell and Leslie King-Hammond, and they will speak on the influence of Gullah culture in the Lowcountry and more generally on Southern art in the context of our times. Audience participation will be encouraged after the panelists' discussion. For tickets, call 722-2706, ext. 22, or go to www.gibbesmuseum.org/events.

For information on programming for the entire week, go to www.jonathangreenweek.com.

Global Awakening

Clothing store Global Awakening will feature clothing designer Phoebe Byers.

Byers is actually more of a clothing "redesigner."

Byers' company is Philadora. Its philosophy is to give new life to old clothing.

"Each piece is custom-made to meet a wide range of styles and tastes," says Byers.

"I've been designing/reconstructing clothes for around four years now. Primarily I buy secondhand, occasionally vintage, clothes and rework them so that they are more compatible with current trends in fashion. I love older fabrics, and I love taking something that already exists and giving it a new life. I think there is way too much material waste in the world, and this is my small way of cutting down on mass production and excess," explains Byers.

Global Awakening is located at 499 King St., and can be reached by calling 577-8579.

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