Just Me: Recent Works by Stuart McClean
Opening Reception:
November 4, 2023, 12 PM – 2 PM
Elijah Pierce Gallery
On View:
October 12 - December 31, 2023
Tuesdays through Fridays by appointment from 1 PM to 5 PM
Group Tours are available to be scheduled
Elijah Pierce Gallery
An exhibition of recent works by international artist, Stuart McClean. Stuart creates art that appeals to the masses nationally and internationally, as well as faithful long time art collectors. Experiencing his work just makes you feel euphoric. He later moved to New Orleans to be closer to some of his larger collectors, where he met his wife Denise, a native New Orleanian, who helps give him an understanding of the culture and its people. Together they run the Stuart McClean Gallery in New Orleans.
He has been a featured artist and awarded Best In Show as well as participated in many Jazz and Cultural events such as the Essence Festival, Jazzfest, Capital Jazz, Haitian Arts and Cultural Center for Art Basel in Miami and Seabreeze where he has been chosen to be the 2022 Featured Artist. His works have also been displayed in the New York State Museum as well as in the Caribbean.
Operating supporters include AMERICAN ELECTRIC POWER Foundation, Bath and Body Works, City of Columbus, Columbus Foundation, Crabbe Brown & James, LLP, Easton Community Foundation, Greater Columbus Arts Council, Martin Luther King Breakfast Committee, Inc., Nationwide Foundation and Ohio Arts Council.
The Elijah Pierce Gallery presents a wide range of historical and contemporary exhibitions that include painting, sculpture, graphics, photography, and decorative arts. The gallery is named in honor of the late Columbus Near East Side resident Elijah Pierce, America’s foremost wood carver of 20th century folk art.
Services
At the Gallery, a rich variety of programs and services are available to the public that include:
- Exhibitions of local, national, and international artists
- School tours of exhibitions
- Gallery talks and hands-on workshops in art education
- Study guides and resource materials
- Junior Docent guided tours
The Elijah Pierce Gallery Hours
The Elijah Pierce Gallery is currently only open to the public on Thursdays from 6 PM to 8 PM. However, you can Schedule a Group Tour Monday through Friday from 1 PM to 5 PM.
Sunday: Closed
Monday: Closed
Tuesday: 1 PM - 5 PM (by appointment only)
Wednesday: 1 PM - 5 PM (by appointment only)
Thursday: 1 PM - 5 PM (by appointment only) and 6 PM - 8 PM
Friday: 1 PM - 5 PM (by appointment only)
Saturday: Closed
The Dream Corridor is currently not open to the public.
About Elijah Pierce
Elijah Pierce was born to a former slave in Baldwin, Mississippi and began to carve at an early age when his father gave him a pocket knife. He developed a hobby for woodcarving and began carving wooden farm animals and other figurines from wood scraps he found. In his teens Pierce had taken an interest in barbering. He learned the trade from a barbershop in his hometown and decided to make it a career. He moved to Columbus in 1923 to be with his wife Cornelia and opened a barbershop on East Long Street after her death in 1951.
After his move to Columbus, Elijah began to carve wood more seriously. By the early 1930s, be began mounting his three-dimensional figures on cardboard or wooden backgrounds. In 1932, Pierce completed the Book of Wood, which he considered his best work. As an evangelistic lay minister, a number of his later works were also inspired by biblical stories and proverbs, Old and New Testament topics inspired him. “Every piece of work I got carved,” stated Pierce, “is a message, a sermon.” His early work also depicted African-inspired fables, Freemasonry symbols, African-American heroes, and a veritable “Noah’s Ark” of animals.
During this lifetime, Pierce received international recognition for his work and is regarded as one of the most talented and influential woodcarvers of his time. In 1973, Pierce won first prize in the International Meeting of Native Art in Zagreb, Yugoslavia. In 1982, the National Endowment of the Arts awarded him a fellowship as one of 15 master traditional artists. After his death in 1984, the Martin Luther King Jr. Performing and Cultural Arts Complex recognized his work by naming the Elijah Pierce Gallery in his honor.