Derrick Wilson received an honorable mention in the South Carolina State Museum’s 20th Anniversary Juried Art Exhibition. The museum received work from 504 artists from across the entire state, giving the jurors nearly 1,000 works of art from which to make their selection. Best in Show First Place and a recipient of the South Carolina State Museum Purchase Award went to Paul Martyka of Rock Hill. Wilson’s winning work was Head of Prestwood Lake, 2007 – acrylic on panel.
Wilson, a native of Hartsville, lived in New York for 10 years and will be returning to Brooklyn at the end of September.
While in New York, Wilson did a lot of scene painting back drops for fashion shots and outdoor billboards in Time Square. He also painted houses.
Wilson, who attended the Ringling School of Art and Design, said he likes to work in acrylic and oils. He said former Ringling student and Hartsville native Dale Johnson was a big influence in his decision to attend the school.
Jokingly, Wilson, said one of the most beneficial classes he took was on how to build a house. His professor told him he would need that more than anything else.
Wilson said he didn’t’ take any art classes while attending Hartsville High School but he kept painting.
About his honorable mention in the S.C. State Museum’s 20th Anniversary Juried Art Exhibition, Wilson said, “I was surprised; I didn’t have a name or reputation in the state. It was great to do so well.”
The painting of the head of Prestwood Lake was just one of many South Carolina subjects Wilson paints.
“I use South Carolina as my inspiration,” Wilson said.
This is his way of giving back and leaving something about the history of this state.
He tries to define South Carolina by things you don’t think to define with. He wants to define it in the not so typical way – such as abandoned places, memorials along the highways and byways.
While in New York, Wilson did a lot of work behind the scenes. He did a piece in a well-known park.
He also has hiked the entire state of Washington, did rock climbing and took lots of photographs along the way. He is just beginning his work with photography.
Others from Hartsville with work in the exhibit are Jean Grosser for Transforming Hate: Star of David, 2007, Neo Nazi hate book and Abigail McLaurin for The Mantra’s Taunt of a Thousand Hollow Words, 2008, mixed media on Mylar.
The exhibit will be show through Sept. 7. The museum is located at 301 Gervais St. in Columbia.
For additional information about the museum, visit its website at southcarolinastatemuseum.org. or call (803) 898-4921.
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