There are arts events on both sides of the river tonight. The annual Aiken Artists Guild's members show opens in the main galleries at the Aiken Center for the Arts, and at the same time, the Terra Cognita lecture series continues at the Morris Museum of Art in Augusta.
The Aiken exhibit gives artist guild members the opportunity to show their best work and compete for awards. There will be a reception from 6 to 8 p.m. with awards to be presented by S.C. Rep. Bill Taylor at 7 p.m. This year, the show honors the memory of guild member Chung Gong, who died last September while on a historical and cultural tour of China with his wife, JoShan. A members' choice award has been established in his honor. One of Gong's paintings will be on display.
Tonight's reception also honors Cynthia Cox, whose works are on exhibit in the Brooks Gallery at the ACA through the end of May. After living for seven years in the Southwest, Cox has returned to the Southeast where Aiken has become her home. Her childhood in the woodlands of the Appalachian foothills inspired her love of nature and landscapes, and she has painted scenes in Alaska, Germany, and more recently the high desert of New Mexico.
Tonight at the Morris Museum of Art, the program will feature Daniel Rozin, New York-based artist and professor who focuses on interactive digital art. He creates complex installations and sculptures that have the ability to change and respond to the presence of the viewer. In many cases the audience becomes part of the artwork via cameras and computers. One of his works will be on display at the museum through May 29.
Rozin will talk about his work at 6 p.m. in the first floor auditorium, and a reception will follow at 7 p.m. There is no admission charge for the event. For examples of his work, see http://www.smoothware.com/danny/.
Leaving at the end of May: If you haven't had the opportunity to see the exhibits by Rocío Maldonado and Dorothy Fletcher Eckmann at the Gertrude Herbert Institute of Art, they will be on display through May 27. Coming up next: exhibits featuring works by Jeffrey Callaham and Rosanne Stutts, opening June 10. June 3 is the deadline for the Gertrude Herbert's annual Sense of Place national juried fine art competition. For a prospectus, see http://www.ghia.org or call 706-722-5495.
The McCormick, S.C., arts council will stage a pottery expo Pottery Expo May 28 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the MACK. The day will include pottery exhibits and demonstrations as well as activities for children. Barbara Powell, who teaches pottery classes at the center, has donated a piece to be given away in a drawing. Call 864-852-3216.
Coming up: Former Augustan Philip Juras will be back in town June 2 to open an exhibit of his work at the Morris Museum of Art, featuring landscapes inspired by naturalist William Bartram's travels through the Southeast in the 1770s. The show, which comes to Augusta after opening at the Telfair Museum of Art in Savannah, includes some 70 paintings that envision the natural beauty of the landscape before civilization changed it all. Mark your calendars for his lecture at 6 p.m. and reception to follow.
Farewell and best wishes: Anne Jenkins, who has helped stir up lots of arts activity in the Union Point/Washington, Ga., area, has announced the closing of her Point of Art Gallery effective May 21. She and her husband are moving out of state but she will continue her newsletters and online exhibits at http://annejenkinsart.com.
The Saluda Shoals Foundation has issued a call for artists to participate in "unearth: a celebration of naturally inspired art," to be held Sept. 29-Oct. 2 at Saluda Shoals Park. The annual celebration showcases visual and performing arts in an outdoor setting near Columbia, S.C. Applications are available at www.unearthsaluda.org.
