Arts roundup: Fisch, Gibbes, art walk and more

Olga (Anhalzer) Fisch

Tonight, MUSC's Courtenay Street Art Gallery is hosting a reception honoring the life and works of recently deceased Hungarian artist Olga Fisch, and her life and journey from Hungary to Ecuador.

Born in Hungary in 1901, Olga Anhalzer studied art at the Weiner Werkstatte in Vienna and later at the Kunstakademia in Dusseldorf.

While there, her friends included the German Expressionist painters Otto Dix, Heinrich Campendonk, Max Ernst, Arthur Kaufman and Jankel Adler.

In 1930, she married Bela Fisch, a dealer in Portland Cement. As his business required a great deal of travel, she accompanied him throughout the world.

While in Eritrea, North Africa, she painted a series about a wedding attended by Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie.

These original drawings, as well as other pre-war drawings and paintings, are featured in a show for the first time since 1939.

Curator Michael Desrosiers recounts this story:

"As Jews living in Nazi-occupied territories (Austria and Hungary), the extended Fisch and Anhalzer families quite wisely decided by 1938 to leave Europe. They traveled on a stormy night (space opened up only because of the treacherous conditions) on a commercial Lufthansa flight from Vienna to Holland."

From there, they took a steamer to New York City.

The Fisch and Anhalzer children were enrolled in public schools. Olga, as an accomplished and respected artist, was the only one to find work, and supported the entire family.

The works in this show are on loan from the private collection of Eva Fisch Desrosiers (one of the children who accompanied Olga from Vienna to Ecuador), and Eva's four children.

The reception is at 6-8 p.m. tonight at the MUSC Wellness Center Courtenay Art Gallery, 45 Courtenay Drive. The exhibit will be on display until Feb. 28. Call 792-8263.

Art lecture

Author and art consultant Barbara Guggenheim will discuss the intricacies and idiosyncrasies of collecting art at a lecture at 6 p.m. today at the Gibbes Museum.

The lecture, "How the Art World Works: New Twists on the World's Second Oldest Profession," will be followed by a reception.

Guggenheim is a partner in the national firm of art consultants, Guggenheim, Asher Associates.

Tickets for the lecture and reception are $10 for museum members and $20 for non-members. Tickets must be purchased in advance at the Gibbes Museum Store, by calling 722-2706, ext. 22.

The Gibbes is at 135 Meeting Street.

Blues on Broad

Music is being added to the mix for the First Friday on Broad event .

Gallery Row is one of the venues for the 20th annual Lowcountry Blues Bash. Some of the galleries will be official hosts for the festival, featuring three blues performers and numerous artists exhibiting their work throughout the galleries at 5-8 p.m. Friday.

Expect to see blues-inspired art works by painter and musician Jim Darlington and fine art photographer Anton Rocz at the Edward Dare Gallery. Music will be provided by the harmonica and guitar duo, Freddie Vanderford and Brandon Turner.

COCO VIVO Fine Art and Design will feature a show called "Midnight Hour Blues" by Angela Trotta Thomas. Gallery director and artist Danny Laran will display a collection reflecting his childhood on a Carolina tobacco farm.

Wine portrait artist Rodney Huckaby will unveil his new still life piece called "57 Strat." Entertainment will be provided by Juke Joint Johnny and veteran guitarist Drew Baldwin with his 1915-vintage harp guitar.

The Hamlet Fine Art Gallery will showcase paintings of jazz and blues singers by Floyd Gordon.

Bluesman Davis Coen will perform at the Hamlet Gallery and the Ellis-Nicholson Gallery.

Mary Martin Gallery and Spencer Fine Art will have entertainment and a variety of soulful art.

For more information on artists featured during Gallery Row's Blues on Broad event, visit www.charlestongalleryrow.com.

Murphy exhibit

"Abstract artist Christopher Murphy creates bold and colorful abstract paintings that go beyond pure design to explore contemporary culture and the collective human experience," says Colleen Keegan Deihl, co-owner of SCOOP studios.

View his latest collection at 5-8 p.m. Friday at SCOOP studios, 57 1/2 Broad Street.

Call577-3292 or visit www.scoopcontemporary.com.

Guild workshops

--Marcell Easter will teach a class on watercolors Feb. 5-7.

--Robin Cruz will conduct a session on various drawing techniques Feb. 13-14.

--Ben Nita McAdam will teach pastel painting Feb. 23-24.

Call the Charleston Artist Guild at 722-2425 to enroll in any of these classes.