/Matt_Toole

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 28, 2011 MEDIA CONTACT: Candace Brasseur USCB Public Information Director 843-208-8030 brasse@uscb.edu

Artist and Sculptor, Matt Toole, to hold talk at USCB KINSHIP: A TRIBUTE OF IRON Beaufort, SC- The University of South Carolina Beaufort Studio Art Program and the USCB Art Gallery will be exhibiting the work of artist and sculptor, Matt Toole. He will showcase prototypes, models, and images of the original performance featured at the 6th International Conference on Contemporary Cast Iron Art, held in Kidwelly, Wales during July of 2010.

Toole will give an hour long talk, followed by a reception, on August 25th, at 6:00pm.

His work will be on exhibit in the USCB Center for the Arts from July 18 - September 2, 2011. The general public is encouraged to attend the talk, reception, and exhibition, which are all free of charge.

KINSHIP: A TRIBUTE OF IRON explores the concept associated with an evolution of human creative endeavors, building upon what has been previously learned and is passed down through generations, resulting in accumulated knowledge. This tribute celebrates the exchange of knowledge represented by the usage of cast iron. It is funded through a Presidential Fellowship for Faculty Development from the Savannah College of Art and Design.

### ABOUT MATT TOOLE Matt Toole grew up around the barrier islands and salt marshes of Savannah, Georgia.

He received a BFA from Georgia Southern University in 1994 and a MFA from Southern Illinois University in 2000. Toole has been a resident artist at the Scottish Sculpture Workshop in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, The John Michael Kohler Art’s Center in Sheboygan Wisconsin, and the Franconia Sculpture Park north of Minneapolis/St Paul, Minnesota. He has traveled throughout the U.S. and U.K., collaborating on cast iron projects and creating performances examining the process of casting metal. Toole has been involved with the International Conference on Contemporary Cast Iron Art since 1997 and is currently a professor of Foundation Studies and Sculpture at the Savannah College of Art and Design.

ABOUT USCB’S STUDIO ART PROGRAM The Studio Art degree program provides students with a focus in visual arts and in the history of art, within the context of the liberal arts. The program prepares graduates both for professional careers and graduate programs in fine arts. The combination of an intensive liberal arts background with studio arts proficiency skills and practical experience helps students investigate and integrate their knowledge and perspectives in today's technologically changing world and gives them the background needed for a career in the arts. For more information see http://www.uscb.edu/art/index.html.

ABOUT USCB Located in the heart of the Carolina Sea Islands, the University of South Carolina Beaufort (USCB) is a senior institution of the University of South Carolina system serving the southeast coast of Georgia and South Carolina. USCB has been the fastest growing baccalaureate institution in the USC system since becoming a four year university in 2002.The university has two campuses which serve a diverse student body

of more than 1750 students. The Historic Beaufort campus, located on Beaufort’s downtown waterfront, houses an innovative baccalaureate studio arts program in close proximity to Beaufort’s many art galleries. The Hilton Head Gateway campus in Bluffton, S.C., offers cutting-edge Computational Science and Nursing laboratories and is the home to Sand Shark athletics. USCB offers students an exceptional place to learn and live in an environment focused on growth, preservation and opportunity. For more information about the University of South Carolina Beaufort, please visit www.uscb.edu online or call the university’s Office of Public Information at 843-2088030.