A Guide to Bluffton’s Best Art Galleries and Creative Spaces
Explore Bluffton’s thriving art scene, from established galleries and working artists to creative spaces and emerging destinations throughout Old Town.
Story by Carolyn Males
Something has shifted in Old Town Bluffton. And maybe it was inevitable, as property values and real estate prices have risen over the past few years. Back in the 1970s and ’80s, when the area was a sleepy village, artists eyed older, sometimes vacant buildings as affordable places to create and sell their work. An old filling station on Calhoun Street was transformed into a gallery, its yard becoming an alfresco showroom for metal sculptures. A potter turned a former church into a studio. The town began celebrating its laid-back eccentricity — “A Bluffton State of Mind” — with public art, festivals and other events. With more galleries came more foot traffic, followed by new businesses and restaurants. Then, in 2016, Bluffton earned a Cultural District designation from the South Carolina Arts Commission.
But recently, as so often happens with gentrification, came displacement. Today many of the pioneering art galleries that once lined Calhoun Street, the town’s main thoroughfare, have moved around the corner to Church Street, creating a new “Gallery Row.” Happily, three galleries remain on Calhoun, just a short walk away, while others are only a few minutes’ drive.
Let’s take a gallery tour and, along the way, peek into a few unexpected places to find original art.
Society of Bluffton Artists (SOBA)
6 Church St.
Society is the key word for this 32-year-old nonprofit arts organization. It embodies the spirit and camaraderie shared by the more than 100 member artists who display their work, teach or take classes and gather to celebrate one another’s successes. Since its founding in 1994, SOBA has stayed true to the vision of the seven local artists who first imagined creating a place for artists of all levels, from novices to skilled hobbyists to professionals. For many the gallery has become a launching pad for fine-arts careers. In keeping with its mission, SOBA also offers workshops and drop-in events for all ages, along with classes and summer camps for children. Explore its five gallery rooms, where you’ll find diverse and affordable original paintings, photography and handcrafted three-dimensional works, spanning ceramics, sculpture, jewelry, glass, wood, resin and more. Why buy mass-produced art from a big-box store when you can take home an original?
ART-I-FACT: Look for the sleeping May River Mermaid cradling a coral-red octopus while “floating” on a giant oyster shell in SOBA’s front yard. (Presumably, she’s an artist too, judging by the palette of colorful abstract octopuses beside her.) Beneath the shell, a plaque reads: “Oysters have been eaten by humans since prehistoric times and cultivated at least since the time of the Roman Empire.” Painted by Dennis Lake, this larger-than-life sculpture is part of Bluffton’s Shell Art Trail, a collection of 21 oyster-shell installations embellished by local artists and paired with fascinating oyster facts throughout Old Town. sobagallery.com.
Jacob Preston Pottery
10 Church St.
Jacob Preston, aka “Bluffton’s Tallest Potter,” opened this studio on Church Street in 1983. Although Preston is now retired, the tradition of fine handcrafted functional stoneware continues through Bevan Brynne Bowler, who uses his glaze recipes to create elegant, hand-built blue plates, jars, vases, tiles and other pieces. Also displayed in this artfully arranged space are distinctive works by Cate Taylor, Annabelle Johnson and Jackie Respass. While you’re there, peek into the studio at the back of the gallery, where you’ll find worktables, slab rollers and the tools of the trade
ART-I-FACT: This small structure once served as the tabernacle for a Baptist church and school in the 1930s. It was moved to this location in 1939.
Robert Rommel Gallery of Nature
14 Church St.
Over the past two years, the question has been, “Where in the world is Robert?” Patagonia? Fiji? Sri Lanka? More recently, you’d have had to look in Namibia and Botswana. But come September, he’ll be back in the Lowcountry photographing local flora and fauna. Walking through this gallery of stunning, large-format photographs of wildlife — creatures of the sky, land and sea — as well as breathtaking landscapes from the Lowcountry and beyond is like stepping into the pages of National Geographic. Don’t miss the slideshow just inside the door, where a rolling digital display showcases his latest images.
ART-I-FACT: Rommel travels solo, armed with cameras and lenses to capture experiences the average person is unlikely to see on a safari, scuba dive or guided tour. Learn more about his photographic adventures, and view a slideshow of his latest work during Rommel’s gallery talk on Oct. 8. robertrommel.com.
Pluff Mudd Art
16 Church St., Suite 101
For 24 years, Pluff Mudd has entranced visitors and locals alike with its eclectic mix of fine art. Step inside, and one of the 14 resident artists will be there to answer questions and assist you. Elegant landscapes share the walls with dreamlike “portraits” of nature, whimsical surrealist canvases, nature photography and intriguing mixed-media pieces. Metalwork includes Calderesque mobiles, handcrafted metal figures that seem to dance out of their frames, and gold and silver jewelry embellished with stones and beads. Clay and wood creations range from raku vessels to embellished dishware, patterned charcuterie boards and wall clocks carved with coastal motifs.
ART-I-FACT: Visitors are often tempted to “tickle the ivories” of the iconic blue piano, painted by abstract artist Vicki Jourdan, which sits on the gallery’s front porch. Beethoven’s “Für Elise” has long been the favorite. But then someone comes along and bangs out “Great Balls of Fire,” or a child runs her fingers across the keys. pluffmuddart.com.
Maye River Gallery
16 Church St., Suite 100
Back in 2007 the group of local women artists who opened Maye River Gallery staffed the gallery themselves, giving visitors the opportunity to view works in progress and talk with the artists. Today the gallery’s 15 resident artists continue that tradition in a newer, more sophisticated space. Wall art ranges from traditional Lowcountry scenes and abstracts to mixed-media works, photography and painterly quilted pieces. Wearable art includes fine jewelry, hand-painted silk scarves and woven shawls. Fine- art home accessories include exquisite ceramics and fused glass, functional cutting boards, as well as mirrors and tables accented with embedded shells.
ART-I-FACT: Look out front for the hot-pink bicycle with a spray of flowers in its basket. This signature two-wheeler, donated by jeweler Susan Knight, is a carryover from the gallery’s earlier location one street over, where it echoed the warm hue of that building’s pillars, giving the gallery a funky, fun feel. mayerivergallery.com.
The Red Piano Art Gallery
40 Calhoun St., Suite 201
One could conjure up stories about the eight-foot-tall bronze sculpture of a woman leaning into the wind, by renowned sculptor Jane DeDecker outside the gallery’s entrance. It’s a clue to the fine art you’ll discover inside, where a carefully curated selection of paintings and sculptures by some of the region’s and nation’s finest artists draws you in with a story. You can almost hear the creaking of the masts as a trawler sits ready for the day’s catch. You step into the vibrant pinks, yellows, purples and blues of a marsh sunset. You smile as a group of hounds looks into your eyes in anticipation of what — a hunt? A romp? Dinner?
ART-I-FACT: The gallery got its name from the red grand piano its first owners, Alan and Mary Palmer, installed in 1969 at the original gallery location on Hilton Head Island. Alan, an illustrator with a passion for jazz who played the saxophone, hosted jam sessions with guest musicians, and the gallery soon became a gathering place for artists and other creatives. Today another vintage red piano provides background music during receptions. redpianoartgallery.com.
Calhoun Street Gallery
44 Calhoun St.
This small cottage is chock-full of antiques, collectibles, gift items and home accessories. But if you poke around, you’ll also find paintings, mixed-media pieces, handmade carvings, leatherwork and jewelry by local artists. Recently, in a delightful convergence of color and whimsy, altered books featuring Frida Kahlo, Pablo Picasso and René Magritte shared a wall with portraits of John Lennon and Billy Joel.
ART-I-FACT: Fair-trade items, such as colorful elephant grass baskets, are made by African women’s cooperatives, with proceeds supporting girls’ education, orphanages and other humanitarian causes. Facebook/CalhounStreetGallery
La Petite Gallerie
56 Calhoun St.
La Petite Gallerie may be small, but the work of its seven local artists celebrates the Lowcountry in a big way through imaginative mixed-media pieces, pen-and-ink drawings, bold abstracts, landscapes and portrayals of everyday moments and experiences. A menagerie — a bronze pelican, a horse fashioned from bicycle parts, metal fish and other critters — can often be found hanging out in the garden. On Friday afternoons sculptor Wally Palmer may even join them, picking bluegrass tunes on his guitar.
ART-I-FACT: Look up. In random spots, corks — a legacy of the gallery’s earlier life as a wine store — jut from the ceiling, now serving as quirky but practical covers for protruding screws. lapetitegallerie.com.
Four Corners Gallery
1263-B May River Road
This is a gallery where you can look, linger and even kick back on a sofa to savor what you’ve seen — a diverse collection of fine artwork with a Lowcountry perspective. A colorful rural Gullah family scene created with woodburning and paint might share wall space with a black-and-white photograph of oystermen and an oil painting of a St. Helena beach. A blue glass fish on a windowsill might sit beside an intriguing, large-hipped clay woman with her arms akimbo. Since 1998 the gallery has also offered expert framing services, with a wide selection of frame styles to choose from.
ART-I-FACT: Four Corners occasionally offers one-day workshops in water media and clay in the main gallery room. Along with instruction from working artists, you’ll find inspiration in the art that surrounds you. fourcornersgallerybluffton.com.
Bluffton Gullah Cultural Heritage Center
1255 May River Road
Two huge metal bottle trees by ironsmith Julian Williams stand outside this museum and cultural center. Symbolic of the Gullah Geechee tradition of protecting against evil spirits by trapping them in blue bottles, they provide an introduction to the center’s historical timelines, photographs, documents, quilts and artwork. A small collection of Gullah paintings and wood carvings featuring Adinkra symbols is also available for purchase. On some afternoons you may even find working artists painting on the center’s wooden porch. There is an admission fee to tour the museum.
ART-I-FACT: Preservationists guided the reconstruction of this historic building, once a 1940s warehouse and processing plant for deertongue, an aromatic plant used to flavor tobacco. The building, which had been moved several times, later became Pepper’s Porch restaurant and is now part of the Ma Daisy’s Porch complex, which also includes a restaurant, bakery and marketplace. blufftongullah.org.
Camellia Art
53 Persimmon St.
Formerly located in Old Town Bluffton, Camellia Art has moved just a short drive away, and what a difference those two miles have made. In this spacious new gallery, art lovers have room to step back and take in each large canvas by its outstanding roster of regional and national artists. The collection, spanning a variety of styles and contemporary perspectives, ranges from abstract and impressionist to representational. What’s more, the three-dimensional pieces — fused glass, ceramics, bronze sculptures and woodwork — are displayed, much as museum curators do, in conversation with the wall art, reflecting the gallery’s fine art design services.
ART-I-FACT: Camellia Art began in Hilton Head in 1985 as a neighborhood framing shop that also sold art supplies and local folk art before transforming into a fine art gallery in 2009. Today, along with its showcase of contemporary art, the gallery offers an even larger selection of frames as well as design consultations. camelliaart.com.
