Artist Talk: Valerie Zimany

Join solo exhibiting artist and 2020 South Carolina Arts Commission (SCAC) Fellow Valerie  Zimany and Ce Scott- Fitts, SCAC’s Artist Services Program Director, to discuss Zimany’s  work and her 701cca exhibition And I Was Covered in Blossoms.  

Much of the work in the exhibition was developed during a short-term residency this summer  at 701cca, and spans ceramics, drawing, and mixed media. Zimany explores traditional  patterns and processes alongside contemporary tools of digital paper cutting and ceramic 3d  printing. She lived in Kanazawa, Japan for seven years and learned the painstaking craft of  ceramic overglaze enamels. Intricate “packed floral” patterns, or Hanazume, are her focus –  historically they incorporated both Asian and Eastern botanicals into an export ware known  as Kutani, and to Zimany the pattern represents a poetic exchange of cultural information  through the language of ornament. Using layered patterns and imagery is fundamental to her  practice and describe this state of cultural in-betweenness – through it she conjures both  temporal and technological incongruencies. Valerie’s work is on exhibit now in a solo show  entitled And I Was Covered in Blossoms at the 701cca gallery through Saturday, Oct. 25,  2020.  

Detroit Native Ce Scott-Fitts is an Artist, Educator, Curator and Arts Administrator and is the  Director of the Artist Services Program at the South Carolina Arts Commission. Ce was  formerly Creative Director and founding staff of the McColl Center for Art + Innovation in  Charlotte, NC. During her tenure, she established an International Residency Program for  North Carolina Artists (South Africa and Ireland), curated exhibitions and developed the  Artist-in-Residence Program. Ce built the Education/Outreach and Artist Services programs  which fostered support for local artists as well as connecting artists with the local  community. In addition, Ce partnered with North and South Carolina Colleges and  Universities, Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools, Atrium Health and Charlotte Area Transit  Authority (CATS) to develop and fund Residencies and Public Art Commissions. Over the 

years, Ce has taught at Central Piedmont Community College, served on selection panels for  the NEA, North Carolina Arts Council and the United Arts Council of Greensboro. She was  also Co-Chair for the Service Committee of Alliance of Artist Communities, Providence, RI  and Chair of Regional Project Grant Committee for the Arts and Science Council, Charlotte  NC. Ce serves on the Individual Artist Support committee for Grant Makers in the Arts. Ce  has exhibited at Museums, Public spaces and Galleries throughout the Southeast. Her work is  held in Public and Private Collections in the US, Japan and the UK. Ce holds her Master of  Fine Arts Degree from Maryland Institute, College of Art in Baltimore, MD. 

Valerie Zimany is Chair and Associate Professor in the Department of Art at Clemson  University. After completing her MFA at Kanazawa College of Art as a Fulbright Fellow and  Japanese Government Scholar, Valerie spent three years in residency at the Utatsuyama  Craft Workshop researching contemporary craft and Kutani overglaze. She was honored with  a Fulbright-Hays grant and returned to Kanazawa’s Institute of Art & Design as a guest  researcher. Her research interests include contemporary Japanese art, the confluence of  cultures in export wares, and most recently utilizing digital manufacturing tools to explore  dense and delicate historic enamelware patterns and the artisan virtuosity required in their  creation. Zimany exhibits both nationally and internationally, and her work resides in multiple  public and private collections, including the Taipei Yingge Ceramic Museum, Taiwan; the  American Museum of Ceramic Art, Pomona, CA; the World Ceramic Museum at Icheon,  Korea; and the Slovenia National Museum in Metelkova, Slovenia. She was named an  American Craft Council Searchlight Artist, a Ceramics Monthly Emerging Artist, and received  the Award of Excellence at the Cluj International Ceramics Biennale in Romania. Major  residencies include the Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts, Medalta International  Artists in Residence, and as the Antinori Distinguished Fellow at Hambidge Center for  Creative Arts and Sciences. 

701 CCA’s mission is to promote understanding, appreciation and enjoyment of contemporary  art. With a gallery and live-work space for an Artist-in-Residence program, the Center  provides artists with resources to develop, create and exhibit visual arts in conjunction with  performing, literary and media arts. 701 CCA also offers year-round cultural programming,  including contemporary art exhibitions and events that are free and open to the public. 

For further inquiries or high-resolution images, contact Michaela Pilar Brown, Interim  Executive Director, at [email protected] or (803) 319-9949.  

701 CCA is located at 701 Whaley Street, 2nd Floor, Columbia, SC 29201. During exhibitions,  gallery hours are Wed-Sun 1-5. For more information and updates, please visit us online at  www.701cca.org and follow us @701cca via social media.

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