Stephanie Forbes and A Year At RO3 with Divine Armor and the Lowcountry Pop-up Showcases
A Year at RO3’ is a group exhibition featuring the many artists who have been featured at RO3 Gallery in downtown Savannah, GA since its opening in October of 2021. In collaboration with The Greater Augusta Arts Council through the City Gallery, RO3 will be coming to its owner, Stephanie Forbes,’ home town of Augusta, GA with Savannah area artists to celebrate the first year of the gallery’s operations for a group exhibition.
Born and raised in Augusta Ga, artist and curator Stephanie Forbes opened Rule of Three Gallery with the intention of providing a space for artists to build their portfolios, gain exhibition experience and earn curatorial experience for herself as a Gallery owner and curator. Managing all gallery operations, Forbes has sought opportunities outside of the local scene for herself and the artists she represents in RO3 within the past year.
The collaboration with City Gallery has provided an exciting opportunity for the Forbes to showcase her own work and represent regional as well as local, Augusta artists. This showcase features works by Gabrielle Torres, Heather Szatmary, Debora Oden, Maggie Hayes, Rob Forbes, as well as Augusta Native, Stephanie Forbes herself.
This cross-gallery collaborative exhibition is an eclectic, colorful array of large artworks. With varying fine arts mediums, from collage, to embroidery, to photography, to traditional mediums such as oil paints. The artworks shown from this group of incredibly talented artists range from portraits of well known celebrities to private individuals, from whimsical clouds to geometric patterns and shapes.
Local Artist Rob Forbes, in his photographic series, researches the story line within each used toy and
found object to express his own. In his Augusta based studio, Forbes builds memory specific compositions that both narrate his own youth and journey into adulthood, as well as speak to our rapidly changing world, via technology as he sees the age of innocence getting younger and younger and as such, Forbes sees a future that has very few toys. A token on his skillful mastery is the component
of lighting within his compositions as Forbes does not edit the photos he captures, they are printed as shot.
His work is in part a documentary of the things that brought children love and joy as well as a proclamation of a harbored youth, having lost his own innocence by forces beyond his control. At an age where most children should be playing and exploring, Forbes was forced into abusive environments within the Foster Care system that have ultimately influenced the path for his career as an
artist.
Born of two artists, Stephanie Forbes herself was destined to dawn the title.
Her materials are often natural; Ranging from oyster shells, insects and flowers, and the vast offerings of nature. Through her art and life, she seeks to honor that which brings inspiration. In her work, Forbes often create chapters of her life, building personal perspectives or conceptualizing general teachings made digestible in the name of art for an audience to consume.
Forbes feels her processes are never pigeon held but rather naturally engaging and fluid as while she teaches her materials
how to work together, while simultaneously learning from said materials.
“I have open dialogues with my materials and concepts, often sitting with how best to transform an idea and material; as if to let marinate the ultimate reason as to why a work must exist.”
Forbes is a multidisciplinary artist. meaning she creates sculptures, paintings, photographs, video and installation works. Through her art, she strives to bring viewers into an idea captivated by nature, as the materials teach us everything.
As a special, pop-up exhibition, Stephanie Forbes will be exhibiting a select few of her sculptural works and paintings of her Divine Armor and the Lowcountry series in the old Pontone Gallery Space in Downtown, Augusta GA with the help of the Greater Augusta Arts Council and Augusta Candle Co.
For more information on on Stephanie Forbes and RO3 Gallery by visiting the provided websites linked.
For more information on The Greater Augusta Arts Council’s exhibitions in both The City Gallery and The Augusta & Co. Gallery please visit our Gallery Page! To RSVP to A Year at RO3’s / Devine Armor and the Lowcountry’s reception, click here.
