Woody Cornwell (1968-2016) was an American

Abstract painter Abstract art uses visual language of shape, form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19t ...

and co-founder of Eyedrum Art & Music Gallery in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

during the late 1990s. Eyedrum, in that era, was instrumental in expanding the alternative art scene in Atlanta. He received a Bachelor degree from

Savannah College of Art and Design Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) is a private nonprofit art school with locations in Savannah, Georgia; Atlanta, Georgia; and Lacoste, France. Founded in 1978 to provide degrees in programs not yet offered in the southeast of the Un ...

(SCAD) graduating Magna Cum Laude and a Master's degree in

Fine Arts In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwo ...

from

Georgia State University Georgia State University (Georgia State, State, or GSU) is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1913, it is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities. It is also the largest institution of hig ...

. In 1997, Woody with a group of friends co-founded Eyedrum Art & Music GallaryYoung, B. (2015). State of the Arts. Arts Georgia. Vol.3; Ed.1, pg.5 in Atlanta where he curated art exhibits and mentored young artists in the city. In addition he taught art at the

Atlanta college of Art The Atlanta College of Art (ACA) was a private four-year art college located in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1905, it was the oldest art college in the Southeast when it was sold out by the Woodruff Arts Center board of directors to the Sa ...

, SCAD Atlanta, Callenwalde Art Center and Chastain Art Center and the Telefair Museum in Atlanta. He was a board member of Art Pages Magazine. He was part of the selection committee at Forward Arts Foundation for their Emerging Artist Award. Woody Cornwell's art has been shown at the Swan Coach House Gallery, Vaknin Schwarz Gallery, Jacksonville Museum of Modern Art, and the Suzanne Randolph Fine Art. His work is also published in new American Paintings, Volume 8,#3. In Atlanta he was represented by the Sandler Hudson Gallery.

Childhood

Woody was born in Newberry, SC on January 13, 1968. He grew up in Macon, Georgia.,

Anderson, South Carolina Anderson is a city in and the county seat of Anderson County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 28,106 at the 2020 census, and the city was the center of an urbanized area of 75,702. It is one of the principal cities in the Green ...

, and

Dalton, Georgia Dalton is a city and the county seat of Whitfield County, Georgia, United States. It is also the principal city of the Dalton Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Murray and Whitfield counties. As of the 2010 census, the c ...

with his parents, Elaine & Woody Sr., and his younger brother Mark. Woody was a natural artist who impressed his parents, Woody Sr. & Elaine Cornwell, with his drawings at a very early age. He grew up a boy scout and an avid adventure seeker.

Career

Woody's art career started in Dalton Ga. when he was commissioned by the local high school for a spirit mural in the common area and a pencil drawing of the school itself. After high school and a brief enrollment at the University of Georgia, Woody followed his passion and enrolled at the Savannah College of Art & Design. After graduation from SCAD Woody moved to Atlanta, enrolled at Georgia State University, and began to lay the groundwork for his first gallery venture. Soon Woody and his roommate Marshal Avett founded the Silver Ceiling Gallery in their own apartment. After a few years of show at Silver Ceiling, Woody and Marshal convinced a handful of friends to create an art collective a few doors down from Silver Ceiling. In 1997, Eyedrum Art & Music Gallery was founded. It was a collective effort where each board member took responsibility for rent although no one lived there. Their ambitious venture paid off in a golden era of experimental art and music that lasted well into the 00's before changes began to distance Woody from the gallery. The Atlanta arts scene provided some trying times. In an article in Creative Loafing Woody was described a "Hustler." In Atlanta Woody was represented by Sandler Hudson Gallery and also was an important player in the first years of the Norton Arts Center in Hapeville Ga. Reproductions and news of future shows of original works is found a
WoodyCornwellArt

Exhibitions

2013, Norton Street Gallary, Atlanta, GA. - "It's Mutual" 2003, Jacksonville Museum of Modern Art, Jacksonville, FLNew American Paintings, (2003), Vol. 8, Num. 3. (p.37). The Open Studios Press, Boston MA. www.newamericanpaintings.com 2003/02 City Hall East, Atlanta, GA 2002 Sandler Hudson Gallery, Atlanta, GANew American Paintings, (2003), Vol. 8, Num. 3. (p. 37). The Open Studios Press, Boston MA. www.newamericanpaintings.com Nations Bank Plaza, Barkin-Leeds, Atlanta, GA 2001 Swan Coach House Gallery, Atlanta, GA Spruill Center for the Arts, Atlanta, GA Lenox Art Walk, Atlanta, GA 2000 Vaknin/Schwarz Gallery, Atlanta, GA

Collections

Jacksonville Museum of Modern Art, Jacksonville, FL Lucinda Bunnen, Atlanta, GA Neiman Marcus, Atlanta, GA Office Worx, Atlanta, GA Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, GA

Publications

2002 Creative Loafing, 6-19-02; 8/15-01; 5-12-00; 2-12-00 Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 6-7-02; 8-17-01; 8-8-00 Jezebel, 9-2000

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cornwell, Woody 1968 births 2016 deaths 20th-century American painters 21st-century American painters People from Newberry County, South Carolina