Spartanburg Day School

Local artist Maggie Macdonald kicks off the Dent Fine Arts Gallery's exhibition calendar this year with her show Is everyone else?. A reception will be held on Thursday, Sept. 7, from 5:30-7 p.m. in the gallery. All are invited to view the show and meet the artist.

Macdonald will also be an artist-in-residence, sharing her talents with Day School students Sept. 5-8. 

"Maggie's ethereal works of layered washes and poetic musings have awakened the curiosity of many students," said Sam Mitchell, fine arts coordinator, Dent Endowed Chair and Upper School art teacher. "They are excited to learn more as she plans to visit both art and creative writing classes in the upcoming weeks."

Macdonald creates large-scale abstract art that are often accompanied by poetic or literary elements. Her mixed media paintings are layered with textures and often include materials such as paint, chalk, pastel, felt, thread, and found papers. The original poetry is a way to capture memories of her personal experiences with emotions such as love, loss, joy, and mourning.

"My abstract and literary works are the physical manifestation of emotion, a resting place for thoughts and inquiries on the day-to-day," Macdonald said. "The work I create is about hope and aesthetic beauty. It’s about processing the current realities of life and transforming emotion into powerful imagery. My art is about celebrating literature and pushing my poetic pursuits. It’s about choosing to create beauty in a world that is often filled with darkness; furthermore, combating the sorrows of the day-to-day and pushing myself to create new from the old."

Is everyone else? will be on display in the Dent Gallery through Oct. 13.