The can't miss 'Sometimes I Miss You' exhibition puts Rule of Three Gallery on the map
In the spring of this year, Stephanie Forbes, who often goes by the nickname “Sunshine” that her, as she describes them, “hippy, little lovebird” parents gave her, took part in SCAD’s Alumni Atelier program. The month-long residency is designed to give creatives the opportunity to immerse themselves in a project, and Forbes used that time to create a body of work she would end up titling “Root” and exhibiting at Cedar House Gallery.
The series incorporated several plaster cast busts, as well as hundreds of oyster shells and bits of Spanish moss, and acted as an investigation of both new processes and her metaphorical “roots” in the Lowcountry.
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The completion of the project, however, left the artist undecided about her future. She needed an art studio, and she was also considering opening an exhibition space herself, having once owned Gaartdensity Art Gallery in Augusta, Georgia. That’s when Cedar House Gallery Director Sam Williams suggested Forbes take a look at a property on Montgomery Street that the owners of the 36th Street space were looking to lease.
“She shows me this space and I was like, ‘Girl, why are you bringing me here?” Forbes said with a laugh. “Are you joking?”
But the powers that be had different ideas for the artist and curator, who has always been someone who lets the universe speak to her. “We get out, and right next to the door were three oyster shells,” she recalled. “And so, the space just stuck with me, and I thought maybe there’s something here.”
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Ultimately, Forbes decided to go all in on the initially off-putting location, and a little more than four months later, on the evening of Oct. 14, her 30th birthday, she had a soft opening of Savannah’s newest exhibition hall, Rule of Three Gallery. The first exhibition, called “Infested/Infest,” was a collection of her own work, and acted as both a celebration of how far she’d come and the possibilities that the future might hold for artists exhibiting at Ro3.
“I’ve worked really hard to get here, and I’ve had to be really trusting in all ways,” said Forbes, who has spent nearly a decade learning the ropes of the art world, steeping herself in everything from marketing to graphic design. “And so I just wanted to gift myself by showing myself that I could do the work that wanted to do A, and B, showcase it.
“I was a nice representation of the way that the work could be utilized. And I wanted that not only for me, but for artists. So, if I’m bringing in artists, I want to have a solid representation and example of what the space would be like. I thought I would be the best guinea pig for that.”
The experiment was a resounding success, and this Friday, Rule of Three Gallery will be showcasing its first outside artist with the exhibition “Sometimes I Miss You” by Nora Harrison. The show is a sort of love letter to her time spent in New York City after graduating from SCAD, and the growth she experienced being alone in the world for the first time.
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“I realized it was a baptism for me,” said Harrison of the experience, which began with dissolution of her relationship with her long time partner. “I had the opportunity to fully rebuild myself into the person I wanted to be, that didn’t depend on the person with me, loving anyone, having to live up to any standards, or anything like that.”
“My two years [in New York],” she added, “I found myself in ways that I never thought I would.”
Although visually very different from the work Forbes exhibited in the inaugural show at Rule of Three Gallery, Harrison’s work is similarly deeply personal. After spending time re-establishing her personal identity, the artist fell in love again, and ended up moving from New York to Miami. While the decision to migrate south to be with the person she hopes to spend the rest of her life with was an easy one for Harrison, the wistful longing it created for the city that helped her navigate such an important growth period necessitated the creation of the body of work in “Sometimes I Miss You.”
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“I did feel this brokenness knowing I was leaving the city,” she explained, “and I needed to put it somewhere.”
“I know I was leaving the city,” she continued, “but with this work I was bringing a part of it with me.”
Alongside the paintings, of which there are 11 in the show, are 16 pieces of Harrison’s writing, which she acknowledges are inseparable from her visual arts practice. For the now Miami-based artist, the poetic verses allow interested viewers to take their exploration of the pieces to a deeper level.
“[The writing] just gives you a little bit more,” she said. “And that’s where I really want to push people. I want them to view the work, wonder what it’s about, try to find themselves in it and their personal experiences, and then find the writing. And then they can get my story, and hopefully relate to that.”
“Her writings are a testament to the depth of her work,” Forbes added.
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With “Sometimes I Miss You," Stephanie Forbes is officially putting Rule of Three Gallery on the map in Savannah. It’s been a longtime coming for the artist and curator, who is excited to have a space to showcase her artistic sensibilities, whether it be through her own work, of through the work of other artists like Nora Harrison.
“I love the idea of creating an experience, and then being able to open up dialogues with people,” she said. “That’s my favorite part.”
“Sometimes I Miss You” has its opening reception on Friday from 6-10 p.m., and goes through Jan. 6. Rule of Three Gallery is located at 915 B Montgomery St. in Savannah. Find them on the web at ro3gallery.com and on Instagram @ro3_gallery.
Learn more about bother artists work at sunshineforbes.com/ and noraharrisonstudio.com/ respectively, and on Instagram @noraharrisonstudio.
Art off the Air is a companion piece to the radio program “Art on the Air” hosted by Rob Hessler and Gretchen Hilmers. The column can also be found at savannahnow.com/entertainment.
The show airs Wednesdays from 3-4pm on WRUU 107.5 FM Savannah and at WRUU.org.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Rule of Three Gallery in Savannah GA presents new Nora Harrison show
