Ellis-Nicholson Gallery | Bruce Nellsmith“A French Connection”

Friday, May 5, 2017
5:00 PM – 8:00 PM

A French Connection by Bruce Nellsmith, Visual Arts Program Coordinator and Professor of Art at Newberry College opens Friday, May 5 with an opportunity to meet the artist from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM. Every year for the last eight or so the artist turns in his students’ grades and along with his wife Cathy, head for France for five weeks. The works shown in this exhibit were created from last year’s visit. The artist says, “Upon my first visit to France, I felt more like I was catching up with an old friend that I had not seen in a long time rather than meeting someone for the first time – it was new, but it was somehow familiar at once. I found something in me, personally, and as an artist, in France, as if a missing part of me had been waiting there for me to reclaim.

The artist paints an experience more so than a record of the appearance of a particular location. Nellsmith’s signature style of bold and energetic brushstrokes along with vibrant, rich colors truly convey the essence and experience of France.