October 12 – November 19, 2009
Artist Talk and Reception:
Thursday, October 22, 12:20 p.m. – 1:20 p.m.
Goodall Gallery
Spears Music/Art Center
The Columbia College Department of Art is proud to present a solo exhibition featuring alumna Paula Rainey Benson ’01 entitled, Forming Presence, beginning October 12 and running through November 19. The exhibit will feature paintings along with black and white photography.
Paula Rainey Benson enjoys working with both painting and photography, and in her most recent body of work has used these media to communicate a spiritual message to her audience. She feels the two media, though different, come together in a dialogue and create a strong relationship that enhance the understanding of her work and the message of spirituality. Benson’s recent work makes use of rectangular shapes symbolizing various aspects of the spiritual message. The rectangular shapes seen throughout her work symbolize not only doors, windows, and the concept of ritual, but also the Divinity, a spiritual state of being that can be experienced through prayer. She believes that prayer can function as both a door and a window, and can be a passageway to change (doors) or a means to obtain a spiritual vision (window). Benson also uses color to reiterate the spiritual message. She uses many natural tones and layered colors through additive and subtractive processes. For Benson, layering is symbolic of the natural processes of the earth’s growth and decay. Ultimately, for Benson, she states that is it “my hope is that through creating a visual space in which I actively pursue communication with the Divine, I am able to help elevate the viewer, as well as myself, to the realm of the Spirit”.
Paula Rainey Benson studied Art at Columbia College, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in 2001, and a Master of Fine Arts degree from Radford University in 2007. Benson has had multiple solo exhibits at Barnes and Noble Booksellers in South Carolina and Virginia, and has participated in various group exhibitions throughout South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia. Her work has also been published and included in numerous private collections across the U.S.
The Columbia College’s Goodall Gallery is located in the Spears Music and Art center in downtown Columbia on North Main Street, 1301 Columbia College Drive. Gallery Hours are Monday through Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday through Friday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. For further information about exhibits please contact Jackie Adams at (803) 786-3088.
Doors and Windows XII, 2006, oil and paper on canvas, 24" X 24"
Untitled, 2006, gelatin silver print, 8" X 12"
Untitled, 2007, gelatin silver print, 8" X 12"
Watchmen Wait for the Morning (Psalm 130:6), 2007, oil and paper on canvas, 35" X 29"
