Top image:
Meghan O’Connor
Rub n’ Wrastle #2
Lithography, monotype
Conway, SC
Meghan O’Connor
Rub n’ Wrastle #2
Lithography, monotype
Conway, SC
About the Competition
The Florence County Museum is proud to present the 2022 Pee Dee Regional Art Competition sponsored by Chick-fil-A of Florence. The competition highlights the best contemporary art in the Pee Dee region. One of the state's oldest juried art competitions, the first Pee Dee Regional dates back to 1954 where the competition was held at the former Florence Museum on Spruce Street in Florence, South Carolina.
This year's exhibit is now open to the public and will remain on display through Friday, April 8, 2022 in the FCM Waters Gallery. Visitors are invited to inspect this year's selection and cast their vote for the Jo Ann Fender Scarborough People's Choice Award. Voting for the People's Choice Award will be open through Friday, March 25 with the winner being announced on Monday, March 28 via a press release and the museum's social media.
FCM Waters Gallery
135 South Dargan Street
Florence, South Carolina
Gallery Hours:
Monday - Friday
10:00am - 5:00pm
The Selection Process & Awards
This year’s competition juror overseeing the selection of works and awards was South Carolina artist Claudia O’Steen. First place in this year’s competition was awarded to Dale Weatherford of Darlington for his charcoal drawin Girl with Braids. The other award winners include second place multimedia video installation by Hartsville resident Marina Shaltout titled Ravenous and third place hand cut paper and wallpaper on distressed drywall Cheese-a-Diddle Lamentation Movement #3 by Conway artist, Charles Clary. The honorable mention was awarded to the sculpture titled, Entwined by Elizabeth Borowsky of Andrews.
The exhibit this year is composed of 29 works of art selected from over 130 online submissions by 63 artists representing northeastern South Carolina. This year’s exhibit is comprised from a balanced variety of paintings, mixed media, prints, drawings, photography and three-dimensional works.
1st Place
Dale Weatherford
Girl with Braids
Charcoal on Roma Paper
Darlington, SC
2nd Place
Marina Shaltout
Ravenous
Multimedia video installation (plywood, polystyrene foam, fabric, found objects)
Hartsville, SC
3rd Place
Charles Clary
Cheese-a-Diddle Lamentation Movement #3
Hand cut paper and wallpaper on distressed drywall
Conway, SC
Honorable Mention
Elizabeth Borowsky
Entwined
Porcelain clay
Andrews, SC
People’s Choice
Jessica Davis
The Skin I’m In
Graphite on paper
Florence, SC
Juror’s Statement
I would first like to congratulate all of the artists who submitted work to the 2022 Pee Dee Regional Art Competition. Having the courage, the voice, and the motivation to make work is truly something to be proud of. It was an honor to be asked to jury this competition, and a pleasure to get to spend time with each of these works — to admire the beauty in the detail, the technical skill, and the conceptual depth.
The jurying process is both exciting and complicated. When reviewing the works, all context, outside of the work itself, is removed. Because of this, I made all decisions based on what I could gather or understand either visually or conceptually, just by looking at the work. Several of the works are visually remarkable, and many others are compelling because of their conceptual depth. It was a wonderful experience to learn more about the perspectives of each participating artist through this process of investigation.
Through the exploration of each of the works, there were two common threads that I experienced. The works in this exhibition left me with a sense of wonder or provided me with a space for deep reflection— both are qualities that are so valuable in this moment. The works allowed me to unearth histories, engage in rituals, and peer into the sublime, filling the gallery space with a great energy. It was an incredible experience to be moved by so many unique voices.
Weatherford’s Girl With Braids contains great sensitivity, attention to detail, and a unique approach to portraiture. Marina Shaltout’s video installation takes a strikingly different look at portraiture, asking me to rethink what it is to be a woman. Charles Clary’s hand cut paper and drywall piece asks that I consider interior vs exterior as it relates to both body and mind, and similarly Borowsky’s porcelain clay sculpture makes me reflect on the strength and fragility of the body.
The stellar quality of all of the artworks made the selection process incredibly difficult yet enjoyable, and I would like to thank all of artists involved for allowing me to spend time with their work. I would also like to thank Stephen Motte and the Florence County Museum for the opportunity to be part of this process.
Claudia O’Steen
January 2022
List of Works
Jim Boden
Conflict 4
Oil on canvas
Hartsville, SC
Jim Boden
Furies
Oil on canvas
Hartsville, SC
Elizabeth Borowsky
Entwined
Porcelain clay
Andrews, SC
Charles Clary
Cheese-a-Diddle Lamentation Movement #3
Hand cut paper and wallpaper on distressed drywall
Conway, SC
Charles Clary
Radimafungle Metastcation Stage #4
Hand cut paper and wallpaper on distressed drywall
Conway, SC
Jessica Davis
The Skin I’m In
Graphite on paper
Florence, SC
Adam Dial
Vision
India ink
Latta, SC
Robert Garey
Portrait of Mark Taylor
Oil on linen
Florence, SC
Douglas Gray
Arca Urn
Stoneware clay with matte wood ash glazes
Florence, SC
Douglas Gray
Cistula Urn
Stoneware clay with matte wood ash glazes
Florence, SC
Roger Halligan
Crossing Guard I
Steel, Portland Concrete products, wood, paint
Lake City, SC
Uschi Jeffcoat
A Political Garden Party
Watercolor with gold leaf
Florence, SC
Uschi Jeffcoat
Selfie of the Artist
Watercolor
Florence, SC
Treelee MacAnn
The Dense Swamp
Serigraph
Myrtle Beach, SC
Mary McKnight
Suspension
Digital scanogram print
Hartsville, SC
Meghan O’Connor
Rub n’ Wrastle #2
Lithography, monotype
Conway, SC
Ivana Reay-Jones
Stay-at-Home Haircut
Digital photography
Florence, SC
Alyssa Reiser Prince
Within The Clouds
Acrylic on canvas
Hartsville, SC
Luke Sarmiento
Crossroads
Colored pencil on panel
Florence, SC
Samantha Senig
If Only You Knew
Clay
Myrtle Beach, SC
Marina Shaltout
Lauren (Chatting with the Pool Boy)
Digital inkjet print on panel
Hartsville, SC
Marina Shaltout
Ravenous
Multimedia video installation (plywood, polystyrene foam, fabric, found objects)
Hartsville, SC
Sophia Shumaker
Tethered
Fabric and thread on canvas
Florence, SC
Deborah Smith
Sojourners
Acrylic on primed panel
Georgetown, SC
Ada Smolen-Morton
Gravitas and Pathos
Ceramic sculpture and pothos
Florence, SC
Ava Starnes
Growing Pain
Oil on canvas
Florence, SC
Polly Turner
Over Waites Island
Charcoal, PanPastel and graphite on Rives BFK paper
Myrtle Beach, SC
Dale Weatherford
Girl with Braids
Charcoal on Roma Paper
Darlington, SC
DaMareeay White
Grandpa
Graphite and colored pencil
Florence, SC
