Permanent Art Collection at Koger

About This Show

The Koger Center for the Arts is proud to be a home to multiple extraordinary works of art. Some works were donated on behalf of the artist or the Cultural Council of Richland and Lexington Counties, while some are on loan from the University of South Carolina’s Permanent Art Collection. Several pieces that are part of the collection are also for sale.

Philip Mullen

The James C. Moore, Jr. Collection of Philip Mullen’s work is a permanent display throughout the Koger Center for the Arts.  Mullen is one of South Carolina’s most prestigious visual artists, and the Koger Center has housed this collection of work since 1990 filling the space with his pieces that examine light and air.  Mullen’s presence in the facility has laid the groundwork for the visual art standard that the Koger Center for the Arts has adhered to when choosing new gallery exhibitions.  This collection is also a part of the University of South Carolina’s official art collection.   

Philip Mullen came to South Carolina in 1969 and is one of the most renowned artists in the state. Through his art displayed in the Koger Center, Mullen explores the juxtaposition of light and how light touches everything around it.  Mullen himself is a former professor at the University of South Carolina’s School of Visual Art and Design and has been described as creating works with even distribution of thought-out technique and carefree fluidity. From the Whitney Museum to the San Francisco Museum of Art, Mullen’s pieces have showcased his abilities across America and the Koger Center is proud to house a permanent exhibit. 

For anyone interested in learning more about Mullen’s paintings, we have provided a virtual audio tour of the collection recorded by Mullen himself. A QR code for the audio recordings is available on the orchestra level for anyone to scan and enjoy, or download the audio recordings here.

Laura Spong

Laura Spong (1926-2018) has had paintings displayed in U.S. Embassies in Bern, Switzerland and Ljubljana, Slovenia as part of the U.S. Department of State’s Art in Embassies program. Her paintings reside in permanent museum and private collections: Columbia Museum of Art, Greenville County Museum of Art, SC State Museum of Art, the South Carolina Arts Commission’s State Art Collection, The Johnson Collection, Midlands Technical Community College, and more.

Big Red is housed in the Hall of Fame on the orchestra level lobby, and has been on display in the Koger Center since 2023.

For any inquiries about purchasing this piece, please contact Julie Coffey, otmgallery@yahoo.com.

BRIAN RUTENBERG

Widely considered to be one of the finest American painters of his generation, Brian Rutenberg has spent forty years honing a distinctive method of compressing the rich color and form of his native coastal South Carolina into complex landscape paintings that imbue material reality with a deep sense of place.

Yoke was donated to the University of South Carolina and the Koger Center for the Arts, and unveiled in its new home on April 28, 2025.

Stephen Chesley

Stephen Chesley was born in Schenectady, NY, in 1952. He exhibited a natural proclivity for drawing and art almost as soon as he could hold pastel and pencil, which were often Christmas gifts from his family. Growing up in Virginia Beach in the late 1950’s he was exposed to the ‘Beat Generation’ of musicians, artist, and writers when Virginia Beach was still a seasonal seaside resort. Recognized in 1981 by the Columbia Museum of Art as an emerging talent he went on to win top 100 in the first National Parks competition of 1987, exhibiting at the Smithsonian, and in 1996 a National Endowment for the Arts, Southeast Regional Fellowship, Southeast Center for Contemporary Art.

The Last Fish on Earth is available for purchase, and pricing is available upon request. For any inquiries about purchasing, please contact kogercenter@sc.edu. The painting is currently located in the Hall of Fame Lobby on the Left Orchestra side of the first level.