A Message from our Executive Director

Art Museum Plans to Be “All Wet” this Summer

As you probably know, we always like to make a splash with our summer exhibits — but this summer we’re really going overboard . We want our Museum visitors to be totally immersed in experiencing these exciting and fun exhibitions. You could say our Museum is going to be “wet and wild” all summer! OK – I promise, enough of that hyperbole!

The Water’s Fine opened on May 29 in our second floor galleries. This exquisite exhibition features works by five contemporary artists depicting — what else? — people in the water, in black-and-white photography and hyperrealistic painting. Continuing the “watery” theme, on June 23 we’ll open a second exhibit, Making Waves: A Drew Brophy Retrospective, featuring paintings, surf boards and a variety of other art forms from the Myrtle Beach native and international renowned surf artist.

What could be more appropriate for an art museum located next door to the ocean — in a community renowned for its water sports and inviting beaches – than two water-themed exhibitions?

The Water’s Fine features artists Samantha French (Brooklyn, NY), Carl Kerridge (Myrtle Beach, SC), Wayne Levin (Honolulu, HI), Matt Story (New York, NY) and Charles Williams (Charlotte, NC). The 29 works in the exhibition include a variety of striking, large-scale images of people swimming, floating, turning flips, body-surfing, diving into or contemplating getting into the water.

Making Waves offers a glimpse into the amazing life and art of world famous surf artist Drew Brophy, who dreamed of being a professional surfer, traveling the globe surfing big waves while using his artwork to support his surf adventures. As he began to receive more and more commissions to create art, a lifetime career was born.

The exhibition will feature over 70 pieces of Brophy’s art spanning more than 30 years, including paintings, sketches and painted surfboards, many of them on loan from collectors around the country. The exhibition will fill seven first-floor galleries in the Museum.

Far from simply a surfer who dabbled in art, Brophy began early in his career to study the physics of weather, particularly its effect on waves. A breakthrough in the development of his surfboard art was his creation of the technique of using Japanese-made Uni Posca paint pens — a technique now used by surfboard artists all over the world. And, luckily for our visitors, he’ll be leading workshops in his paint-pen technique right in our Museum! We have some fun exhibition-opening events planned; please see below.

We know these two exhibitions will be one of the high points of your summer — as it certainly will be for us. We invite you to come visit often. Surf’s up at the Art Museum!

Sincerely,

‌

Patricia Goodwin

Executive Director

Upcoming Events for Making Waves

Making Waves | Opening Day

A free family day celebrating the opening of Making Waves

Saturday, June 23, 2018

11 am - 3 pm

FREE

Featuring: live music by Paperwork, surf art workshops, Drew Brophy-inspired community mural, food truck, yoga, massages, exhibit tours led by Drew Brophy, surf and art vendors, henna tattoos, surf film screenings and more! For more information, please call the Art Museum at 843.238.2510 and stay connected with us on social media and our website .