September 1–30, 2023 @ Fischman Gallery
Fischman Gallery presents "The Privilege to Paint," highlighting the paintings of Charles Jones, a local artist from Jonesboroug, Tennessee. The exhibit runs from Sept.1-30,with an opening reception Sept. 1, from 6:30-9 p.m.
Jones grew up in Wayne and Greene counties in North Carolina. He attended East Carolina University where he studied sculpture with Robert Edmiston and painting with Francis Speight, and received a BFA in 1968. After a stint in the army, he studied painting with Alden Mason and Michael Spafford at the University of Washington in Seattle, where he received an MFA in 1974. From that time until 2003, he lived and worked in Seattle.
He showed extensively, primarily with Kimsey-Miller Gallery, as well as in numerous competitions, group showsand invitationals.
Since moving to East Tennessee in 2003 his work has appeared at the 27th and 28th Annual First Tennessee Art Shows at the Reece Museum at ETSU, the Mary B. Martin School of the Arts Mountain Visions show, Jonesborough Open Juried Art Shows (winning Best in Show in 2015), and the 2013 Grade AA Cage Free show at Slocumb Galleries.
Jones also had paintings in the 2018 and 2019 Kingsport Arts Guild’s Appalachian Art Show, winning prizes both years. Hiswork has been featured in solo shows at the Kingsport Art Guild, at the Panoramic Gallery at the William King Museum in Abingdon, Virginia, and at the McKinney Center in Jonesborough.
The title of this show is borrowed from the title of the biography by Maurice C. York of the painters Francis Speight and his wife Sarah Blakeslee.Speight was Jones' first and most influential mentor. From 1964-1969 Jones was a student of his figure drawing classes, his studio assistantand a frequent guest in his home.
"Things come full circle," says Jones. "Being in my 77th year, I am now about the same age that he was when I knew him. Perhaps that is the reason that there is a new-found resonance to what he had to say, to his day-in-day-out dedication to the business of being a painter of great skill and accomplishment, and above all, to his quiet integrity. I now find this to be a very significant part of the fabric of my own life. Francis Speight, more than anyone else in my life, directed me to the path that has led me to this place. I am profoundly grateful that I have had the good fortune to have also experienced the privilege to paint and I cannot thank him enough for that."
The exhibit is open to the public, free of charge, from Sept. 1- Sept.30. Fischman Gallery is located at 133 N Commerce Street, Johnson City. The building is handicap accessible. For more information, visit facebook.com/FischmanGallery or call 423-430-8441.
Category: Exhibits