Spartanburg artist Bailey Bailie says art should speak for itself and his will be speaking clearly Sept. 2 through 27 in his latest exhibit, “Bailie: A 25-Year Retrospective,” in Gallery III of the Artists Collective | Spartanburg.
An artist’s reception will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 18, as part of Spartanburg ArtWalk. The reception and exhibition viewing are free and open to the public. The pieces in the show will be offered for purchase with prices ranging from $125 to $1,500.
“I say, ‘Let the work speak for itself,’” says Bailie, a native of Georgia who now lives in Spartanburg. “The exhibit is a retrospective collection of work from the beginning of my career to the present, including 2D and 3D works, drawings, paintings, sculpture and pottery. The message I want to convey is what an artist’s journey entails, and how their work evolves as they mature as an artist. Also, how long it takes to perfect one’s own skill and style.”
Bailie says most of his work is in a variety of exhibition spaces, leading him to want to do a retrospective. “I have kept one piece from all but a couple of exhibits and have plenty of random pieces through the years that have never been exhibited. The exhibit will feature a vast array of techniques, styles, subject matter and media.”
The most important thing about the exhibit, he adds, is that “it took a lifetime to create through countless hours of study, education, techniques, training, experience, mistakes and relationships.”
An artist for 30 years, Bailie served an eight-year apprenticeship with national artist Thomas Parham, learning multiple drawing techniques as well as mural and oil painting. He was on the South Carolina Arts Commission roster for 15 years, where he did educational residencies throughout the state, student teaching at Pine Street Elementary school in Spartanburg, serving as a resident artist at the South Carolina School for the Deaf and the Blind in Spartanburg for five years, teaching at the Art School at the Spartanburg Art Museum for 20 years and as an adjunct professor at Wofford College for seven years.
He has exhibited from the Princeton Seminary Hall at Princeton University to the North Charleston Gallery in Charleston, South Carolina, and all points in between.
A member of the Artists Collective | Spartanburg, Bailie says he loves exhibiting there. “It’s a great exhibition space with lots of options and friendly people.”