A New Gallery Joins Charleston's Contemporary Art Scene

A trailblazing force in Charleston’s contemporary art scene, Anne Siegfried has been at the forefront of the city’s evolving tastes since founding The George Gallery in 2013. On March 7, she debuted Peter Anthony Fine Art, a second gallery housed in a restored 1815 building just a little more than a block east. Conceived alongside avid patron Deborah Chalsty, the gallery’s name is a tongue-in-cheek nod to the long-standing tradition of creative women adopting male pseudonyms. With this new endeavor, Siegfried—who specializes in abstract and non-objective art—committed to “taking more creative risks,” curating talents who push the boundaries of their media and techniques. “So much of this detail work does not translate through a computer screen,” notes Siegfried, who champions the benefits of viewing art in person. “Experiencing it firsthand is powerful; it’s what connects us to being human.” Her inaugural group exhibition in the new space spotlighted eight core talents, including Asheville’s Andrew Hayes, who sculpts with books and metal, and Bill Killebrew, a perspective-bending Nashville painter Siegfried has admired for decades. Following an April solo show of Linda Fantuzzo’s acrylics, Tallahassee-based artist Tong Zhang’s lushly saturated watercolors remain on view through May 23, while mesmerizing beaded works by New Orleans-based Demond Melancon arrive soon.