Photograph by Jessica Sturgeon.
Written by Carolyn Fairbanks. Digital Media by Jessica Sturgeon.
The art department is paying tribute to former colleague and chair of the Art department with an art exhibition entitled These Guys: A Tribute to Guy Chase. “Guy Chase had a huge impact on the department at Greenville and a number of students, but he was also such a tremendous professional artist,” Professor Jake Amundson explains. The exhibition runs from March 6 to April 3 and consists of twenty-five professional artists and friends of Chase.
Photo by Jessica Sturgeon.
Most of these artists are members of Christians in the Visual Arts (CIVA). “We have people here showing in New York City and are in major collections in LA and all over the world…these are top notch artists that recognize the greatest of somebody from Greenville,” Amundson says. These professionals got word of the alumni show Greenville wanted to do for Chase and volunteered to contribute to the show because of the impact he had on their lives.
Artists included Tim Lowly, Catherine Prescott, Jeff Wetzig, and more. Greenville professors Jake Amundson, Rick McPeak, and Steve Heilmer also contributed art for the show. Next to some of the artwork are explanations of the impact Chase had in their lives and art. Steven Carrelli revealed that he only met Guy Chase once, but he “learned a great deal from him…in a way, his work and thought have been my studio companion for years.” Chase also had a clear impact on Amundson. “He’s one of the big reasons I came to Greenville,” he explains. “The way he works and the way he treats life and art and teaching…is something I’m trying to bring into my personal and professional life,” Amundson
Photo by Jessica Sturgeon.
conveys.
One of the coolest things I found out at the opening was what the process of making art meant to Guy Chase. In the caption next to one of his pieces, he explains, “The painting process became a kind of prayer…the prescribed repetitive action became a matrix for meditation.”
Just because you are not an art enthusiast doesn’t mean you won’t receive a new perspective after attending the exhibition. The show is much more than art. Amundson encourages students to “come and see the work and how [artists] think about their faith, their creativity, and then the influence that someone from Greenville had on them is just kind of inspirational and something that everyone should come check out and experience for themselves.” The exhibition proves that you don’t have to be a big name in a big city to inspire others.
