Get a peek at new exhibitions

New art is on display in the galleries at the Aiken Center for the Arts.

The ACA will present the Richard Hagerty, Dale Keene and Women on Women group exhibitions in the main and Brooks galleries from Wednesday to Nov. 13. Jenny Courtenay's works will be on display in the Aiken Artist Guild Gallery during October.

A free opening reception for the gallery exhibitions will be held Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m. A free lecture by artist Hagerty will be held before the reception at 5 p.m. Advance registration is required.

For more information on the reception or to register for the lecture, call 641-9094. The ACA is located at 122 Laurens St., S.W.

Richard 'Duke' Hagerty

Lower level main gallery

Richard (Duke) Hagerty is a self-taught artist who draws his surreal, fantasy-based imagery from dreams, mythology, history, science and stories.

Painting, he believes, is the language of the unconscious; the act of painting is as close as we get to dreaming in the conscious state, he said.

Hagerty works in a variety of media, including pen and ink, watercolor and oil. He has been a working artist for 30 years.

This former Charleston City Councilman is widely acclaimed for his fantasy paintings in which he utilizes free association to craft psychologically potent dreamscapes. His work recalls that of Dali, Bosch, Bruegel, Kandinsky, Miro, Klee and Chagall.

Hagerty's works capture the viewer's attention with movement, color and a complex story that tantalizes far beyond a simple viewing of the work.

Hagerty has been selected as a Piccolo Festival Poster Artist and was the 2003 Piccolo Spoleto Invitational Exhibition artist. His paintings have appeared in numerous solo and group exhibitions since 1979 throughout the Southeast and in New York.

His work is in the collection of Charleston's Gibbes Museum of Art. He had a solo show at the Gibbes Art Gallery (now Museum of Art) in 1991.

Dale Keene

Lower level main gallery

Dale Keene is originally from Detroit, Mich. In Detroit, he was involved in the auto manufacturing industry and dabbled in the fine arts.

After moving to Florida where a family member required assistance with health issues, he took time off from his career and went back to his love of art. Keene is a self-taught artist. He said he learns something new every time he puts up an empty canvas.

Keene exhibited for the first time in Aiken at the Aiken Artist Guild exhibits and the Heart Foundation exhibit.

He¬ had his first one-man show at the MACK¬ in McCormick in March.

Jenny Courtenay

Lower level - Aiken Artist's Guild Gallery

Jenny Courtenay studied fine arts in high school in South Africa and occasionally resumed her studies in painting in between raising a family.

Upon retirement in Aiken, she began furthering her painting skills in watercolor and oils at the ACA. Earlier this year, she expanded into the medium of acrylic paints. Courtenay is a member of the Aiken Artist Guild and ACA.

She has exhibited her paintings locally in several shows.

Women on Women

Upper level - Brooks Gallery

The "Women on Women" Exhibition is an invitational including female Aiken artists. Each participant will exhibit one or two current pieces of art (2-D or 3-D) that will be for sale and not previously exhibited at the ACA. The artwork must depict women's lives, loves and/or passions.

This is the first year for the group exhibition. It is an opportunity for female artists 18 years or older to display their works in a nonjuried exhibition. Requirements were that all artwork would be framed or gallery wrapped; two-dimensional works were no larger than 48-by-48 inches; and three-dimensional were no larger than 15-by-15-by-30 inches. All participants could exhibit two recent 2-D or 3-D pieces that are for sale.

Want to Go?

What? Opening reception

When? Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m.

Where? Aiken Center for the Arts

Cost: Free