9/29/15 PR – Quench, the book, Release Date

Renowned Charleston artist, Robert Maniscalco, has created an exhibition of paintings, expressing hope and renewal, inspired by his Vision Trip to Haiti in November 2014. The book, “Quench,” is to be released in November 2015.

For more information please contact Robert or at 843-486-3161

Louise Noel, Haiti

Pre-release sale of Quench, the book!

Schedule an Exhibition and Artist Talk

Upcoming Quench Project Dates:

• Exhibition at Threshold Theatre Company, 84 Society, Charleston, SC Now – November 11. 
• Robert’s painting, “The Pois Thrashers” is part of the 32nd Annual MOJA Arts Festival Juried Art Exhibition – Now through October 4
• Artist talk/Residence at Holy Spirit Evangelical Lutheran Church, 3075 Bees Ferry Road, Charleston, SC  November 8, 1 pm
• City Gallery, North Charleston Coliseum, December 3-31. Opening reception on December 3, 5-7 pm. Here you will see the entire exhibition.

______________________________________________

The Quench Project (TQP) is a story of survival, an exploration of human desire and the many ways we cope with our longings. It consists of a series of paintings, photographs, some included in an upcoming book and a short film, celebrating the resiliency of the human spirit.

Here is an excerpt from the upcoming book, “Quench.”

“The Quench Project started with a question: how could I use my God-given gifts to further my mission on Earth? I raised money through Kickstarter to pay for my trip to Haiti in November of 2014, where I took photos, shot video and made sketches. Watermissions International and The Bread of Life Orphanage will be receiving 50% of the net profits from the project.”

Renowned Charleston artist, Robert Maniscalco, best known for his distinctive commission portrait work and Fine Art has created a series of paintings, called “The Quench Project” from his vision trip to Haiti.  Advanced copies of “Quench,” are available to the media for review upon request. Quench is set for release in November, 2015.   As part of The Quench Project, Robert is also finishing a short documentary, called “Out of the Darkness,” which will be available soon on youtube.

This is Robert’s first foray into Christian literature, but it is friendly to all readers.

“The Quench Project” explores alternatives to societal ideas about beauty, tragedy and survival.  Robert has created a series of 14 paintings, with others in the planning stages.  His theme is the resilient nature of humans to rise “out of the darkness.” One purpose of the project is to create awareness around the water crisis many are facing in the world right now.

Robert says, “throughout The Quench Project my goal has simply been to give a face to the ‘faceless hordes.’ When seen as a wash of humanity it is easy to lose sight of the individual. My intention in coming to Haiti was not to document the misery of the masses, or even to find a few representative faces to win sympathy in the States. My goal was to find out, through my art, how a people, one person at a time, and in a million different ways, is finding a path to survival.”

When Cute Little Girls Grow Up

Artist Statement
I believe artists are the conscience, the teachers of society.  The best artists have the ability to go deep within themselves and bring up the treasures, usually in the form of questions, which form a blueprint for a meaningful life. As an artist, I am always looking for ways to bring meaning and clarity into the world, to use my God given talent to inquire and to edify.  So I share my journey, finding and expressing whatever insight, with which I have been blessed, to whomever is willing to engage in a shared human journey.  I do this through my painting, my writing, my acting/directing, my music and my teaching.

My goal as a visual artist, as a painter, is to explore the full range of my medium, which is light.  I have developed several bodies of work exploring a variety of structures and subjects, but the poetry of light on form keeps coming back into my work. Light is the force which reveals the subtleties of nature, particularly the human condition, revealing what it means to be human in our journey toward the light.  This journey toward the light is a theme which runs through all my work.  We are all on a journey of survival, to make something magnificent out of what we are given.   My purpose as an artist is to find and celebrate the many creative ways we humans find to overcome and grow as a result of this journey.

Although expressive realism is my dharma I have also begun to explore the possibilities of narrative and poetry using color and light to transport the viewer of my work into another realm of reality.

“The Quench Project is one of those crazy “Close-Encounters-of-the-Third-Kind-Richard-Dreyfus-building-a-mountain-in-his-living-room-kind-of-obsessions” that I simply cannot accomplish without a community of supporters.  TQP was the result of my desire to connect my spiritual aspirations with my life’s work.  I have come to believe painting, particularly realism, is a way to speak to societal needs, like water usage, income inequality, racism, questions of faith.  I think art needs to do more than entertain.  It must edify and teach us what it means to be human. We are here to enlighten.”

“The Quench Project is a continuation of the Social Realist movement.  The project’s goal is to raise awareness for societal issues in Haiti and globally, through exhibitions, artists talks and through the book and documentary.  A portion of profits are being donated to Water Missions International, my sponsors of the trip.  And to the Bread of Life Orphanage in Jacmel, Haiti, with whom I stayed for part of my time.  Much of my inspiration came from the new friendships I made there.”

About the Artist