National artists to present concurrent solo exhibitions in North Charleston June 3-30

"Tractor at Bayonet Farm" by Jimmy Leslie (right) and "Diver with yacht" by John A. Malveto (left)

The City of North Charleston’s Cultural Arts Department is pleased to announce that landscapes by Jimmy Leslie of Shrewsbury, New Jersey, and stain paintings by John A. Malveto of Walker, Louisiana, will be on exhibit at the North Charleston City Gallery from June 3-30, 2013.

Road Trip – Landscape Paintings by Jimmy Leslie
In an effort to continually push boundaries and experiment, Jimmy Leslie works with diverse modes of expression. His body of work includes landscapes, portraits, and collages in oil, acrylic, watercolor, and mixed media. This particular exhibit, Road Trip – Landscape Paintings by Jimmy Leslie, features scenes from the artist’s travels painted in oil and acrylic. “I love to get out of the studio whenever possible to take part in the tradition of plein air painting,” Leslie says. “There’s something about hitting the road with a small paint box in the same way the Impressionists did; just my supplies and a desire to connect with nature.” Jimmy’s landscape paintings capture scenes of places both near and far, many of which are visited due to the travel associated with his position as Resident Artist and Sr. Technical Services Director at Colart Americas, Inc. Sometimes the paintings made on location stand on their own and other times they form the basis for larger paintings that begin to push the boundaries of representation and even become non-representational images. The paintings that stem from these studies often share the qualities of topography and form becomes dictated by color, rather than the reverse. “Ultimately I look for these images to reference the locations they are based on rather than a strict verbatim translation; in this way they become a record which is much more personal,” he explains.

Jimmy Leslie received an MFA from the Graduate School of Figurative Art of the New York Academy of Art and owned and operated the Leslie Art Studio in 2006 and 2007. After almost 15 years of teaching in the Art & Design departments of Monmouth University, St John’s University, and Brookdale Community College, as well as working with gifted students in the Monmouth County Arts High School program, Jimmy left the academic world behind. In January 2009 he began his role as Resident Artist and Sr. Technical Services Director at Colart Americas, Inc., the North American distributor of Winsor & Newton and Liquitex paints. As an artist with ColArt, he is involved with product testing and development and runs the Artist Outreach program. His landscapes, figurative work, and mixed media collages have been exhibited throughout New Jersey, as well as New York, Oregon, Texas, Nebraska, Idaho, Florida, Missouri, North Carolina, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. His work has most recently been seen at The Currier Museum Art Center (Manchester, NH), The NJ Resources HQ, (Howell, NJ), The Limner Gallery (Hudson, NY), the new Joan and Robert Rechnitz Hall on the campus of Monmouth University (West Long Branch, NJ), and the Paper World Art Material Trade Show (Frankfurt, Germany).

Recent Paintings by John A. Malveto
In Recent Paintings by John A. Malveto, the artist presents a collection of abstract works involving the resiliency of humanity versus nature and their eternal conflict to coexist harmoniously. Malveto’s pieces are autobiographical in nature, thereby enabling him the opportunity to integrate personal iconography within the compositions. His works include a combination of visually energetic surfaces created through his own unique approach to “stain painting.” Malveto’s process involves applying multiple stages of poured and brushed acrylic paint to numerous sheets of glass. Stencils are used to cut out shapes from the paint once it has dried. The shapes correspond to a detailed pencil composition created on a canvas. The cut-out shapes of paint are glued to the canvas, section by section, resulting in a finished painting whose effect could not be achieved any other way. “This form of painting is so unusual that I know of no other contemporary artist who employs it,” Malveto says. “By utilizing this unique procedure I feel it has provided greater control of my visual expression. In addition this experience redefines the concept of stain painting.”

John Malveto received his Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Park College in Missouri in 1967. He studied painting and drawing at the University of Rhode Island in 1974, and received his Masters of Fine Arts in painting and sculpture from Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona in 1976. Malveto has taught at many universities from New York to California to China and has been a professor at the Louisiana State University School of Art since 1983. He has been represented by numerous galleries, and participated in many solo and group exhibitions, earning multiple awards. Presently he is showing with the Kodner Gallery in St. Louis, Missouri.

The North Charleston City Gallery is situated in the common areas of the Charleston Area Convention Center, located at 5001 Coliseum Drive in North Charleston. Parking and admission are free during regular Convention Center operating hours, 9:00am – 5:00pm daily. The gallery is staffed on Friday, Saturday, and Monday only. Inquiries regarding the artists or purchase information may be directed to the North Charleston Cultural Arts Department at (843) 740-5854. For information on additional exhibits, programs, and events, visit the Cultural Arts section of the City’s website at http://bit.ly/culturalarts.