John Duckworth ’99
“Balance, awareness, and perception” are the three words contemporary artist John Duckworth ’99 uses to describe the unique nature of his upcoming multi-sensory exhibition titled AWAKE at the City Gallery at Waterfront Park, opening on Friday, November 7, 2014. The gallery will be transformed into an immersive space within a guided exhibition layout, displaying Duckworth’s photography, sketches, paintings, video and audio installation in his most comprehensive show yet. The exhibition will be open to the public through December 23, 2014.
RELATED: See more work by John Duckworth.
Duckworth earned his B.A. in Studio Art from the College of Charleston and maintains homes both in the Charleston region and in New York City. He has had solo exhibitions at cueB Gallery, London; Hagedorn Foundation Gallery, Atlanta; Robert Lange Studios, Charleston; and Jennifer Hunt Gallery, Birmingham, AL. Duckworth has exhibited at Art Basel Miami and has been featured in group shows in Charleston at the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art and The Gibbes Museum of Art.
RELATED: Learn more about the studio art major at the College of Charleston.
Photo by Stewart Young
Much of Duckworth’s art has an underlying meditative quality, embedded in works such as his Buddhist-inspired paintings and his most-recognizable photographs of nature. AWAKE will feature over forty art works in this exhibition that also highlights Duckworth’s creative and meditation practices.
“My meditation practice is fundamental to my creative process. It is through witnessing the results of a deeper inner awareness of habitual thoughts, words, and actions that I become more adept to finding balance in these uncertain times,” says Duckworth.
RELATED: See Duckworth’s artwork in the fall 2014 issue of the College of Charleston Magazine.
The City Gallery will be transformed with a non-traditional presentation of the artist’s work, providing a new and exciting art experience for visitors. Highlights of the exhibition will include:
- Engaging video installationThe Buddha Chapel which is the core of the exhibition, showcasing 15 large paintings within a sanctuary-like setting in the center of the gallery
- Series of sketches on paper and canvas which were preparatory works for the Buddha paintings
- Newest works featuring Duckworth’s exploration into new territories
- The Lounge for processing the exhibit
- A selection of Landscape Abstract photographs
Photo by Stewart Young
AWAKE features work that encourages audiences to become more aware and focus on the present moment. As Duckworth’s art challenges viewers to free their minds of the constant to-do lists and daily thoughts in order to embrace calmness or contemplation, the exhibition includes a physical space for viewer reflection and thought.
The artist states: “I believe that art/creativity is an essential component of human nature. Art inspires people to access their imagination, and imagination is the fuel that propels dreams and purpose in order to realize true human potential, and reveal our authentic self. Exterior guides often assist this sort of inner revelation; I believe that my art work can function as a guide. My creative process is a personal exploration that mirrors my meditation practice and both are healing and self-transformative, and the result (my ‘art’) can resonate with others like a tuning fork–and either awaken this seed within, or simply affirm that we’re not alone in our searching.”
AWAKE will include additional programming of events with the Gibbes Museum Society 1858, Mission Yoga, REDUX, College of Charleston Religious Studies Department and Charleston Tibet House, and SC poet laureate Marjory Wentworth and jazz musician Quentin Baxter.
