PICKENS — The Pickens County Cultural Commission recently announced the opening of a special exhibition at the Pickens County Museum of Art and History.

Jocelyn Châteauvert, “Recruits,” handmade paper, indigo, mix media (installation detail)

From 6 until 8 p.m. on Sept. 7, the museum will host a reception to open “Connecting Concept and Medium: Fiber Art in South Carolina”. The exhibition, featuring works by 27 of the state’s finest fiber artisans, will continue through Nov. 14.

“Connecting Concept and Medium,” being mounted in all three of the museum’s changing galleries, is an invitational exhibition that, in some sense of the word, will survey the wide ranges of fiber art being currently created in South Carolina by established, as well as up-and-coming artists.

While there are hints to the history and evolution of fiber art and prevailing ideologies, this exhibit is less a history show and more about the artists working in all fiber categories including weaving, needlework, quilting, wearables, paper & felting, mixed fiber, surface design, sculpture and installation.

The wide range of artists dealing with a variety of techniques and subject matter includes: Paige Alexander, Beth Andrews, Jim Arendt, Lois Bro, Jocelyn Châteauvert, Robin Ann Cooper, Cathy Costner, Mary Edna Fraser, Fran Gardner, Terry Jarrard-Dimond, Patricia Kerko, Christina Laurel, Susan Lenz, Connie Lippert, Lee Malerich, Beth Melton, Jeanette Moody, Dottie Moore, Marlene O’Bryant-Seabrook, Bonnie B. Ouellette, Beth Robertson, Alice Schlein, Gail Sexton, Susan Sorrell, Chris Tedesco, Marilyn Wall, and Michael Wiernicki

From this group of artists, a cross section of styles is represented and a figurative pulse-taking of the fiber arts is accomplished. As each artist looks at the world around them and explores the variety of media and technique that is available to them, they share with the viewer what it is that they have found, and what it is that they do to connect concept and medium.

Connecting Concept and Medium is sponsored in part by Cornell-Dubilier, Earth Design, Pickens Savings and Loan and South Carolina Bank and Trust.

The Pickens County Museum of Art & History is funded in part by Pickens County, members and friends of the museum and a grant from the South Carolina Arts Commission, which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts.