FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                            January 24, 2008

NORTH CAROLINA ARTIST TO SHOWCASE & SPEAK ON AFRICAN-INSPIRED ART AT RECEPTION IN CARY

Town features first lecture-format exhibition

CARY, NC – With his art having transcended the Atlantic Ocean, Charles Joyner is now back home sharing his experiences with the Triangle during the Town Of Cary’s exhibition program – “Charles Joyner:  Patterns of Commonality”.  Joyner will give a gallery talk on his mixed media art that juxtaposes life in North Carolina and Africa at Cary ’s Town Hall, 316 N. Academy St. , on Sunday January 27 at 3 p.m. ; a reception will take place from 2-4 p.m.   Joyner’s artwork will be on display on the 1st and 2nd floor of the Cary Town Hall atrium Friday, January 25 through March 24, 2008 .

A person in search of the realities of his African heritage, Joyner’s artwork is a transparency of his life growing up in rural North Carolina that has been strongly influenced by his recent travels in West Africa .  Using collage, hand painting, photography and screen printing, Joyner creates an African aesthetic in his work.  Design elements abstracted from African symbols, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and textiles are the sources from which his ideas evolve.

“We welcome everyone to this unique opportunity to not only see the art, but also to understand the artist’s inspiration,” said Public Art Coordinator Denise Dickens.  "While the Town hosts several exhibitions each year, this exhibition marks the first time this artist’s works will be shown in Cary .”   

A Cary resident, Joyner is a professor of design at North Carolina State University and director of the Ghana Study Abroad Program in the College of Art at Ghana ’s Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.  Artwork in public and private collections include the Huntsville Museum of Art in Huntsville, Alabama, SAS Institute of Cary, Atlanta Life Insurance Company of Atlanta, UNC-Chapel Hill, North Carolina Central University, and the Ministry of Education in Accra, Ghana.

The Town plans to host additional gallery talks during the year, including Davidson College Museum director Brad Thomas during the Davidson Collects opening reception at the Page-Walker on Friday, February 29.

For more, visit Galleries at www.townofcary.org or call (919) 469-4061.

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