Patrick Servedio takes you on a journey with Piccolo exhibit

He had been painting still lifes, which "required a lot of intense looking back and forth between subject and painting," Servedio says.

Because of these back and forth, starting and stopping motions, he started feeling that, when painting a subject from life, these breaks in the creative process were more frequent and taxing.

"Because of these breaks, I would finish a still life or group of paintings and find myself left with a lot of expressive energy not purged in the painting process. Subsequently, this led me to re-evaluate my approach to making images in the hopes of making the process more satisfying," he says.

So, in search of a more satisfying experience, Servedio says he "decided to stop painting from references and began to work in a much more abstract and intuitive way. This approached allowed me to express myself in a freer manner. I could run my brush across the painting surface until it was out of paint, not having to worry so much about whether the color or its placement was correct. I began using paper and other mediums in my work. Unintentional marks also became important elements."

This working method opened a world of infinite possibilities previously hidden from Servedio in his earlier approaches, hence the title of his new body of work called "Hidden Places." He also feels that the title and the collection "call into question our traditional notion of image making and place by allowing more of the subconscious to enter and interpret the work."

Servedio was the featured artist on the Spotlight Concerts Series poster for Piccolo this year and was given the opportunity to exhibit the works from his "Hidden Places" collection at the Office of Cultural Affairs' New Perspectives Gallery. The show will be up through Sunday on the third floor at 180 Meeting Street. For more information, call 343-5948.

More than a Paper Moon

Paper is often used simply as the base for creations. Paper artist Jocelyn Chateauvert takes this underappreciated medium to another level, creating beautiful, organic sculptural creations that are simply difficult to not want to touch.

Check out her newest body of work at Plum Elements, 161 1/2 King Street.

"Charleston-based artist Jocelyn Chateauvert works with her hand-constructed paper and mixed media to translate the Lowcountry's natural wonders, like the oaks and marsh, into tableaus of elegant whimsy or moments of enriching beauty," says gallery owner .

Her work is included in the collections of the Museum of Fine Art, Boston; the Mint Museum of Art and Craft; the Medical University of South Carolina Ashley River Tower; the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Renwick Gallery.

For more, contact 727-3747 or visit www.plumelements.com.