March 14 - April 14, 2024
Meet Jill
Biography
Painter and draftsman Jill Hooper is from North Carolina and New York. Hooper showed a fondness for drawing and draftsmanship at a young age. She worked under D. Jeffrey Mims for an extended period in North Carolina, and Florence, Italy, studying still-life, portraiture, and the figure. She also studied at Universite de Haute Bretagne in Rennes, France where she learned printmaking. Hooper has also studied portraiture with a focus on the sight-size traditions at Charles H. Cecil Studios in Florence. She participated in the apprentice program under Benjamin Long VI at the League of the Carolinas, as well as assisted him with the Crossnore fresco in the mountains of North Carolina. Hooper's exposure to classical realism and to the academic figurative style transformed her work and persona. Her training has led her from the deserts of Utah to the museums of Europe, drawing and painting from life and studying the Old Masters.
Hooper's work has been exhibited in France, England, and throughout the southeastern United States. She is permanently collected in three museums, including the Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston where she is the youngest living artist to ever be collected. In 2007, her self-portrait Pugnis et Calcibus was in the BP portrait exhibit touring throughout the United Kingdom hanging in London's National Portrait Gallery. Jill lives and works between downtown Charleston and London, where she is annually the artist-in-residence and portrait/figure teacher at London Fine Art Studios. For seven years, she has taught a Fundamental Drawing Course at the American College of the Building Arts.
Exhibition & Venue
Windows into Another World by Jill Hooper is a glimpse into a utopian setting of humans and animals/nature —birds, fawns, giraffes, butterflies, coyotes…and beyond. Nature represents freedom, air, and wild beauty. The frame is the architectural setting — much like a small stage — offering the viewer a peek inside. Faces peer out of gilded gold and charcoal figures twist across French parchment. A mythical land portrayed with depth and playfulness. The exhibition is open to view through The Charleston Festival with admission to the Aiken-Rhett House Museum.
The Aiken-Rhett House Museum is one of two Historic House Museums owned and operated by Historic Charleston Foundation. Originally constructed in the 1820s on the edge of a bustling and growing Charleston, the mansion was heavily modified and expanded beginning in the 1830s under the ownership of Gov. William Aiken and his wife, Harriet Lowndes Aiken and again in the 1850’s while the Aiken’s traveled abroad during one of their Grand Tours of Europe. A remarkable and unique property, the Foundation has chosen a preserved-as-found preservation style for this historic site.
What does that mean? The historic house is truly frozen in time. Peeling wallpaper, exquisitely preserved moldings and grand staircases create hauntingly beautiful and blank canvas for artists and designers alike. The Foundation activates this unique space with art exhibits and designer vignettes to share history and preservation in a modern way.
Exhibit Tours & Workshops
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Figure Drawing Workshop with Jill Hooper, March 16
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Exhibit Walk & Talk with Jill Hooper, March 17
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En Plein Air Workshop with Jill Hooper and Ann Witherige, March 25
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Exhibit Walk & Talk with guest poet Penelope Michalik, March 25
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Private Studio Tour with Jill Hooper, April 12
Exhibit & Studio Tours
Exhibit Walk & Talk with Jill Hooper
at the Aiken-Rhett House Museum
March 17, 5 - 6 pm $50
Join Jill Hooper for a tour and in-depth explanation of her exhibition, “Window into Another World,” at the Aiken-Rhett House Museum, where she will describe her process and inspiration for her body of work. Have an intimate opportunity to hear from the artist and experience this transformative exhibit in a truly unique place. Light refreshments provided.
Exhibit Walk & Talk with Jill Hooper
and guest poet, Penelope Michalik
at the Aiken-Rhett House Museum
March 25, 5 - 6 pm $50
Join Jill Hooper accompanied by British poet and barrister Penelope Michalik for a tour of her exhibition, “Window into Another World,” at the Aiken-Rhett House Museum and a poetry reading related to the work. Have an intimate opportunity to hear from the artist and experience this transformative exhibit enhanced by the spoken word. Light refreshments provided.
Exhibit
Workshops
En Plein Air Workshop with Jill Hooper and guest artist, Ann Witheridge
at the Aiken-Rhett House Museum
March 25, 9 am - 12 pm $400
All the way from London, world renowned English artist Ann Witheridge of London Fine Art Studios will join exhibiting artist Jill Hooper, for an En Plein Air paining workshop in the exterior yard of the Aiken-Rhett House Museum. All materials provided.
