Leslie Hinton Presents Claytharsis, an MFA solo exhibition

(Above: Invitation to Leslie Hinton’s MFA exhibition, Claytharsis. Click on image to enlarge.)

Gallery 80808/Vista Studios is pleased to announce the opening of Leslie Hinton’s MFA solo exhibition, Claytharsis. Shown in the main gallery from Thursday, May 21 through Tuesday, May 26, 2009 at 808 Lady Street in downtown Columbia, South Carolina. This show will feature sculptural ceramics accentuated with drawings, paintings and a short loop video. The opening reception will be on Thursday, May 23 from 6 – 8 PM. The artist will be in attendance.

(Click on image above to enlarge.)

Leslie Hinton as spent the last three years as a Master of Fine Arts candidate at the University of South Carolina. Her major focus has been in ceramics with a minor in printmaking. Claytharsis represents her final thesis and has been compiled over the last two semesters. This terminal project provided Hinton with a uniquely creative experience. Her studio became her safety zone. Working with her materials became both meditative and a sort of emotional purging. She worked with a new sense of purpose and urgency while finding the process to be a form of healing. Sources of inspiration came from places as diverse as Pets Plus, meeting self-taught topiary artist Pearl Frayer, knitting, cooking, and through explorations with otherwise mundane found objects. Hinton hopes that Claytharsis embodies the factors of optimism, birth, and growth. She says of her work, “I must keep my sights on these positive aspects of the human experience.”

(Click on images above and below to enlarge.)