AUGUST 9, 2009 . CHARLOTTE OBSERVER

Juried show to highlight Carolinas artists this fall
Gallery owner hopes South End event, which is taking entries, will bring back the excitement of the old Springs Art Show.

by Miriam Durkin, Special to the Observer

For the first time in more than a decade, Carolinas painters and sculptors have a large-scale juried show to enter. And come October, art lovers can see work by the two states' most talented artists in a South End exhibit that's caught the enthusiasm of museums and businesses.

The event, Carolina's Got Art, realizes a long-held dream by gallery owner Larry Elder, who wants to bring back the excitement of the old annual Springs Art Show, which drew over a thousand entries some years during its three-decade run. Elder, who was a part-time artist in the 1980s creating oil pastel landscapes and collages, recalls entering every year.

Crandall Bowles, chairman of Springs Industries, has signed on as a sponsor of the new show, noting that the older version was started in 1958 by her grandfather, Leroy Springs. “Thousands of people came to Lancaster to view the show,” she wrote in an e-mail. “Jurors of the art show would select cash prize winners and select 35-40 pieces of art that traveled the Carolinas and New York City.”

Elder created a Web site, www.carolinasgotart.com, that received 10,385 hits in July. “You wouldn't believe the excitement this thing's generated,” he said.

Officials at the Mint Museum and N.C. Museum of Art in Raleigh have both expressed support. “I was impressed with the materials I've received, and I'm recommending it to artists,” said Larry Wheeler, director of the N.C. Museum of Art in Raleigh.

Even as Elder spoke with a reporter about the project, he was interrupted by a woman delivering an entry, a telephone caller with questions, and a Charlotte Center City Partners representative who wanted to discuss how nearby businesses could be involved.

Carolina's Got Art is open to professional and amateur artists and will offer more than $7,000 in prize money. Entry deadline is Sept. 1. Submission guidelines are on the Web site.

New York art critic Brice Brown will select the work to be exhibited and the prize winners. Elder invited Brown, citing the critic's appreciation for a variety of styles.

The Oct. 2-30 exhibit will be in the now-empty Atherton Mill, owned by Edens & Avant, an East Coast real estate developer based in Columbia. A chance meeting with the new owners set Carolinas Got Art into motion, Elder says. During their chat, the gallery owner mused aloud what a great space Atherton Mill would be for a show.

As of last week, Elder had received 70 entries. He's putting up posters (designers and printers donated services) and organizing volunteers. After this year's show, Elder will select about 50 pieces to exhibit at his gallery at 1427 South Blvd. in November.