Public Art Committee Announces Winners of Public Art Exhibition on Hilton Head Island

The Purchase Prize Award winner and the People ’s Choice Award winners were announced on Tuesday, November 17 at a reception held at Coastal Discovery Museum.

The Purchase Prize Award winner was selected from 19 large-scale sculptures that are part of the 2015 Public Art Exhibition on Hilton Head Island, the biennial exhibition that runs through December 31 at Coastal Discovery Museum. In addition to bringing public art to the area, the primary function of the exhibition is for the Public Art Fund to purchase a piece that is then donated to the Town of Hilton Head Island for their growing, permanent public art collection.

The select jury of artists, gallery owners and art enthusiasts chose “Setting Sun, ” by Greeley, Pa.-based artist Tom Holmes, as Purchase Prize winner. The piece, which is 19 ft. by 19 ft. by 16 ft., consists of bright orange radials that span symmetrically from a steel base. Holmes works in different mediums and has been selected for numerous national, international and solo exhibitions.

“I ’m excited that my work will be added to your extraordinary public collection, ” he said. “It ’s a great honor. ” Holmes describes “Setting Sun ” like this, “The radials are a visually stunning metaphor for how we perceive the cycles of nature. The sun does not actually set, but human perceptions and language cause it to seem so. ”

In addition to announcing the Purchase Prize winner, three People ’s Choice Award winners were announced. These winners were chosen by the public during the first month of the exhibition, via online and paper ballots. More than 1,100 votes were received. Interestingly, though the exhibition ’s 19 sculptures came from across the country – one piece from as far away as Hawaii – the three winners were regional artists:

• First Prize: Nature ’s Journey, by Robert Sadlemire of Myrtle Beach, SC
• Second Prize: Hanging, by Eileen Blyth and Mark Finely, Columbia, SC
• Third Prize: Lovearch, by Andrew Denton, Greenville, NC

People ’s Choice Award winning artists each go home with a cash prize.

There ’s still time to visit the Public Art Exhibition on Hilton Head Island The biennial Public Art Exhibition on Hilton Head Island opened on October 1 and runs through December 31. An effort of the Public Art Fund of Community Foundation of the Lowcountry, the event includes 19 large-scale sculptures created by artists from around the country. The exhibition is free and held at beautiful Coastal Discovery Museum. Visitors can learn about each sculpture via a Guided by Cell tour. Or call Coastal Discovery Museum at 843.689-6767 to schedule a docent-led tour, offered on Fridays at 11 for a fee.