Art History 101: Modern and Contemporary 

The CMA Collection consists of four main collecting areas: modern and contemporary, European, Asian, and American art. While the collection galleries are temporarily closed for an exciting revamp, visitors are invited to explore these categories in Art History 101, a casual lecture series. This month, dive into modern and contemporary works of the CMA Collection with Brittany M. Watkins, a multidisciplinary artist, gallery director, and educator, and Laurel Archie, an artist and educator.

Sign up for the full series of four classes or one class at a time.Today’s class focuses on Abstraction with Brittany M. Watkins instructing.

Modern and Contemporary series: $80 / $64 for members. Single class: $25 / $20 for members. Join today!

Series:

Members Registration

Public Registration

Single Class

Members Registration

Public Registration

Breakdown of Lectures: 

May 6: Overview of Modern and Contemporary (Archie) 

May 13: Is It Art? (Watkins) 

May 20: Marginalized Artists in Modern and Contemporary (Archie) 

May 27: Abstraction (Watkins) 

Brittany M. Watkins is the current Artist-in-Residence at Richland Library. Renowned for her large-scale installation work, she has earned notable accolades including the South Carolina Arts Commission State Fellowship in 2024, the South Arts State Fellowship in 2022, and the ArtFields' Juried Panel Prize in 2018. Watkins holds a bachelor's degree in fine art from the University of West Georgia (2012) and a master's degree in studio art from Florida State University (2016). Her graduate studies ignited her passion for fostering contemporary art in the South, leading her to establish artist-run spaces and pop-up exhibitions in Tallahassee. Watkins went on to serve as president and exhibitions coordinator of 621 Gallery from 2018 to 2019 and was appointed director of Goodall Gallery at Columbia College in July 2023. Her artistic practice centers on an examination of contemporary society, which continues to shape how she approaches her roles as gallerist, curator, and community organizer.  
 
Laurel Archie is an artist and educator in Columbia. An Illinois native, she studied fine arts at Loyola University Chicago, receiving her B.A. in 2007. She went on to complete her M.F.A. in painting at the University of South Carolina; her graduate work was inspired by time studying modern art in Italy and France. After graduating, her figurative work expanded to include genre painting and still life traditions. Archie’s work continues to explore color theory, the tension between 2D and 3D, and the haptic nature of human interaction. Her awards include the USC College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s M.F.A. Fellowship as well as The John Benz Painting Award. Archie currently teaches at Columbia College while maintaining a painting practice in her home studio in Columbia with her husband and three children.
 

Coming up next, Art History 101: European Art, Medieval to Modernist