Escape winter’s doldrums by visiting the Frankin G. Burroughs-Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum in Myrtle Beach, SC, where Laurie Blum: My Inner Garden is on view until April 23, 2015.
Laurie Blum’s “Inner Garden” comes to life in this enchanting exhibition of gouache paintings of the natural, and sometimes fantastical, world, as it exists through the eyes and soul of the artist. In 2003 and 2004, Blum made three trips to Iran, where she discovered a profound connection with the Bagh-e Eram Garden (Garden of Paradise) in the city of Shiraz. The garden was the living embodiment of the paradise imagined by Blum during her youth, her “Inner Garden,” and so she put the brush to paper, painting a world both rich in color and feeling. Since finding and painting the Garden of Paradise, Blum’s inner and outer worlds have become one, and her art is a testament to the beauty of both. In 2007, Blum’s paintings of Iran were exhibited at the United Nations Secretariat Building and The National Arts Club in New York City. Now, for the first time, Blum’s work will be on view at the Art Museum in her hometown of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
While at the museum guests are able to enjoy four other exhibits. Swim: An Artist’s Journey by Charles Williams and Voices of the Island: The Cuban Art Collection of Reynier Llanes open through April 23, Visual Poetry: Metal Leaf Paintings by Joseph Bradley, through March 8 and Kathleen Elliot: Imaginary Botanicals through April 12.
Admission to the museum is free at all times, but donations are welcomed.