Bring Your Canary: A Few Minutes with Tim Hussey

Norwegian Black 21 by Tim Hussey mixed media on paper 38 x 50 inches

The very first show I worked on as a student at College of Charleston’s Halsey Institute featured the work of Tim Hussey and Tom Stanley called Figure of Speech.  It was a life changing experience that brought me to where I am now, and so Tim Hussey has always had a special place in my heart.

Drown Then Swim, the 10 year retrospective at the City Gallery at Waterfront Park this past December, gave a wonderful view of the progression of his work and maturation of technique, content (or intentional lack of), and his exploration of styles from near total abstraction to delicate portraits.

Art Mag wanted to know a little more about this painter, and we think you’ll enjoy it too…

AM: When did you first pick up a [paintbrush/camera/pencil/charcoal/etc]?
TH: Hmmm.
I picked up a pencil when I was tiny. Bacteria-sized, in fact.
I started shooting pictures in college- 1988.
Never touched a paint brush until college, and started getting serious about it in New York, 1993.

AM: What artist(s), living or dead, would you like to have dinner with?
TH: My social phobia prevents me from getting excited about dinner with anyone.
However, I would love to develop a long-term friendship with:
Living: David Lynch
Dead: Cy Twombly
Sort of alive: William Eggleston
Kind of dead: Chan Marshall

AM: What is the first thing you reach for in the morning?
TH: Elise’s face

AM: Finish the sentence: When I run away to join the circus, I will…
TH: Call you to feed my cat

see Hussey’s work locally at Rebekah Jacob Gallery, 169 King Street.

Video: Tim Hussey’s Drown Then Swim at City Gallery

Charleston artist Tim Hussey’s newest show opened at the City Gallery at Waterfront Park on Thursday, and we have a little sneak preview video for you!

Drown Then Swim with Me Tonight!

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During my time at the hallowed College of Charleston, I had the grand idea to enroll in the Arts Management class called “Gallery Fundamentals.”  Not really knowing what it would be about, but liking the sound of it, I went for it.  This class changed my life.

I had always loved art, but here I found the diving board for jumping into the swimming pool known as my career.  I was meant to be a gallery director!  I got to touch the art!  There was wine at the openings!  What wasn’t to love?!

That semester I studied with Buff Ross, who has become a long-time friend as well as mentor.  The class worked on several exhibitions at the Halsey Institute in the original gallery at the Simons Center.  This was where I first met Tim Hussey and his work.

Some girls go crazy over movie stars.  I was enthralled and starry eyed by artists.  A lot has changed since then–but I still never get tired of having the chance to swim around inside a fascinating person’s mind.  Hang a lot of their art work in one room and let yourself drown in it.   Tim Hussey is perfect for this.

Tim once told me that in order to abstract, you have to master the academic.  In layman’s terms, you must be able to make a perfect likeness of an object or a figure before you can jump from the high dive into abstract art.   Otherwise, the work will sell you out.  In the chaos and the madness of his artwork, you can see so many moments and pieces colliding into perfection on the canvas.

While I sometimes find his paintings to be incredibly sensual or alluring, sometimes repelling, they key is that they are engaging.  The definition of ‘Art’ can be so broad and very vague, but the ultimate goal is always the same–to engage.   I don’t really care whether you love or hate a piece of art work, I care that it makes you actually THINK.

Tim Hussey: Drown Then Swim opening at City Gallery at Waterfront Park, December 16, 6-8 pm.  Artists lecture and walk through Saturday, December 18, 6pm.  34 Prioleau Street, www.citygalleryatwaterfrontpark.com.