The Franklin G. Burroughs – Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum in Myrtle Beach will host the exhibit When There is No Frontier by Cuban-American artist Reynier Llanes from September 16 – December 31, 2021. This programming was supported with funding from a Growth Grant from South Carolina Humanities, www.schumanities.org. Funding for the Growth Grants has been provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) as part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
When There Is No Frontier is an exhibition of 59 fantastical paintings in oil, watercolor and coffee, spanning the last six years of Miami-based painter Reynier Llanes’ career. The work stems from the artist’s fascination with the creation of parallel universes as we escape into our imagined worlds, seeking respite and comfort from our ever-changing and sometimes daunting realities. Text panels will include the artist’s statement, biographical information, and supplemental explanatory text panels to help enhance the viewer’s exhibition exxperience.
Reynier Llanes (b. Cuba, 1985) studied art in his hometown of Pinar del Rio at the city’s school of art (Instructores de Arte) under the tutelage renowned Cuban artist, Juan Miguel Suárez. In 2007, LIanes emigrated to the United States, first settling in Naples, FL, and then in Charleston, SC, where he was an artist-in-residence at Jonathan Green Studios. Nourished by the rich, southern culture of the Lowcountry, Llanes’ art career flourished with opportunities to exhibit at museums and art centers, including a 2013 exhibition of his coffee paintings – monochromatic watermedia paintings in which espresso coffee is employed as paint – in Myrtle Beach.
In addition to the exhibit, two interpretive collateral programs will be offered that will extend the life of the exhibition past December 31. Reynier will narrate a tour of the exhibition that will be professionally edited and made available on the museum’s “Virtual Museum” page of the website. Additionally, the museum curator will make an online exhibition catalogue available to all viewers on the museum’s Exhibition page.
Learn more about the exhibit and supplemental virtual access at the Franklin G. Burroughs – Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum website at https://myrtlebeachartmuseum.org/.
The mission of SC Humanities is to enrich the cultural and intellectual lives of all South Carolinians. Established in 1973, this 501(c) 3 organization is governed by a volunteer 21-member Board of Directors comprised of community leaders from throughout the state. It presents and/or supports literary initiatives, lectures, exhibits, festivals, publications, oral history projects, videos and other humanities-based experiences that directly or indirectly reach more than 250,000 citizens annually.
Image: Reynier Llanes, Suns under the Moon, 2020, oil on canvas, 59×47 inches, Morris Museum of Art, Augusta, GA
