Local photographer opens state-of-the-art facility

Photographer Rick Rhodes has been involved with the Charleston art community for over 15 years. His brand-new facility, Rick Rhodes Photography & Imaging, aims to create an education and awareness focal point for the arts community.

Rhodes sees the new facility — which includes a digital lab, a 2000-square-foot studio and a 400-square-foot gallery — not only as a place of business but also as a place that artists can gather to improve their craft and business skills.

"This has always been a dream of mine, not only to do our jobs better but also to become more involved in the community," Rhodes said.

He intends to help promote the arts locally by hosting shows for various artists in the gallery, curated by Elise Poché. The first exhibit in the new gallery will be prints from the recently released book "Charleston, South Carolina: A Photographic Portrait," photographed by Rhodes and narrated by Michele Salater.

Opposite from the gallery, the digital imaging lab managed by Tim Steele will provide high-quality digital scanning and printing, including high-end giclee reproductions. Steele is known for his critical color matching and attention to detail in reproducing fine art for Jim Booth, John Doyle, Mary Edna Fraser and many other local artists.

The commercial studio will double as a place for seminars and workshops. Rhodes enjoys sharing his experience with students from Trident Technical College, College of Charleston, The Art Institute, other local schools and organizations.

Rhodes shoots commercial, aerial, product and art copy photography. He holds degrees from the Southeast Center for Photographic Studies in Daytona Beach, Fla., and Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, Calif. He is an active member of the South Carolina chapter of the American Society of Media Photographers.

For more info, call 766-7425 or e-mail rrp@knology.net. The new studio/gallery is located at 1842 Belgrade Ave.

A new face

Redux Contemporary Art Center has announced the addition of Kyle LeGette as the organization's new director of development.

LeGette is an alumnus of the College of Charleston, graduating in 1998 with a B.A. in Studio Art, and has worked as the assistant director and grants writer for the Charleston Academy of Music since 2005. In the short term, she will also serve as interim executive director as the Redux board of directors and search committee conducts a national call to fill the position. The job should be posted Friday and details can be found at www.reduxstudios.org, at that time.

'Cool' off

The Sylvan Gallery is presenting "Summer Cool," a collection of works by gallery artists, in the hopes of taking people's minds off the summer heat. The gallery is showing works depicting locations all over the world, as well as Charleston. Refreshing water scenes bring thoughts of fresh breezes and moments of "cool reflection" to help people beat the heat of summer, said owner Joe Sylvan.

Knowing the art market in the west very well, Joe and Janie Sylvan bring a freshness and enthusiasm to the eastern art world and have consistently contributed to the rocketing Charleston art scene over the last six years. The gallery focuses on 20th- and 21st-century representational art. It is preparing for the third Charleston Art Auction, which will be held in conjunction with the CFADA 10th Fine Art Annual the first weekend in November. For more info, call 722-2172, or visit 171 King St.

Brown Moss

Works of painter Fred Moss and photographer William Brown will be shown at the Charleston Area Convention Center Gallery throughout August. Moss frequently uses a palette knife with his oil paint to create textural, impressionistic paintings of gardens.

"His colorful flowers and unique compositions are reminiscent of a spring day," says Ann Simpson, arts coordinator for the city of North Charleston's Cultural Arts Department. Brown's "Cinematic Photography" is representative of his experiments with serial recording techniques typically used in cinematic photography.

"His unique perspective becomes clear in this series of archival inkjet prints that fit serial images into a single photographic frame," Simpson said.

"Window Exhibit"

Leslie Pearson uses narrative as a counterpoint to imagery in her allegorical paintings of fruit and vegetable still lifes. The use of text in her work allows interplay between words and images and acts as an effective vehicle for communicating ideas. View her newest collection of works at The Meeting Place, 1077 East Montague Ave., North Charleston. Works will be on display through Aug. 31.

Making "The Connection"

"The Connection" is a traveling art exhibit designed to entertain and educate citizens about the connections between South Carolina and Barbados in the West Indies. It consists of over 70 pieces from South Carolinian and Barbadian artists representing various media that reflect the similarities in the fields of agriculture, horticulture, arts, African-American heritage and maritime heritage. The exhibit is on display at the North Charleston and American LaFrance Fire Museum & Educational Center, 4975 Centre Pointe Drive, North Charleston, and will be up until Sept. 15.

For more info, call 745-1087 or visit www.northcharleston.com.