Mary Gilkerson

Columbia, SC

Mary Bentz Gilkerson is a South Carolina contemporary artist who is passionate about the environment and creating a sense of place. Her works draw from the landscapes of Charleston, Edisto Island, the Ace Basin, and the Congaree, all places that she has a deep connection to. Her paintings and prints focus on re-creating the experience of place and time through the use of light, atmosphere, and the shifting patterns of color. Gilkerson holds an MFA in drawing and painting from the University of South Carolina. A native South Carolinian, she lives and works in Columbia where she is a professor of art at Columbia College. She has received grants from the SC Arts Commission and the Cultural Council of Richland and Lexington Counties in addition to having been selected as a Southern Arts Federation Fellowship Finalist. Her work is in the permanent collections of McKissick Museum, Palmetto Health, Morris Communications Company, and Seibels Bruce Group, among others.