The Johnson Collection

Beyond the Illustration

January 31 – April 20

Illustration is all around us, from our formative childhood encounters with picture books and cartoons to the advertising and images of mass culture. For Illustrators turned “fine artists” it never quite leaves their technique and style. Such is the case for Philip Morsberger, whose painting style is influenced by childhood comics and Palmer Schoppe’s expressive characters honed from his time as a Disney Studio illustrator. But what is an illustrator and what makes an illustration?

Beyond the Illustration features artists who worked in various commercial media which is exhibited in tandem with examples from their more traditional fine art careers.

April 18:

Free Caricatures in TJC Gallery and Stop Motion Reveal

Have you ever wanted to see yourself as an illustration? Stop in to TJC Gallery during this month’s Artwalk to have a free caricature of yourself drawn between 5:30 to 7:30. Explore the last few days of “Beyond the Illustration,” and watch TJC’s community-made animated short play throughout the evening.

“They Don’t Get Out of Their Frames Much” is a short video filmed throughout the exhibition’s run and features our paintings “coming off the walls” and taking a tour around Spartanburg. A special thanks to everyone who participated including Pine Street Elementary fourth graders, Spartanburg Day School art students, Meeting Street Academy fourth graders, and many more!

Contact Blake Batten at bbatten@johnsondevelopment.net with any questions.

TJC Gallery will be closed April 24 - May 4

We will reopen May 8th with a new exhibition:

Draped in Time: Spanish Moss and the Tapestry of the South curated by Landon Bryant

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Hailed by The Magazine Antiques with having staged a “quiet art historical revolution” and expanding “the meaning of regional” through its “exhibitions, loans, publications, and institutional partnerships,” the Johnson Collection seeks to illuminate the rich history and diverse cultures of the American South.

Today, the Johnson Collection counts iconic masterworks among its holdings, as well as representative pieces by an astonishing depth and breadth of artists, native and visiting, whose lives and legacies form the foundation of Southern art history. From William H. Johnson’s Boats in the Harbor to Anni Albers’ Connections, the collection embraces the region’s rich history and confronts its complexities, past and present.