Thompson Savannah is celebrating the work of local, multi-disciplinary artist, Will Penny, with a display of his work and reception on Friday, Sept. 29, in the hotel’s lobby.
Penny’s art is a mix of media including paintings, videos, sculptures, and projection. Susan Laney, of Laney Contemporary, curated the installation. Her experience working with the arts in Savannah spans almost 30 years.
“I started with a photography gallery, Jacqueline Gallery, in downtown Savannah many years ago. I recognized the need for a contemporary art gallery that would continue to grow with our regional artists. I thought it was very important to have a support system for these artists that need to be able to make Savannah home,” Laney said.
Thompson Hotels has been featuring well-known and emerging talent in their space by emphasizing what they call “culture shifters”—creators who have “meaningful impacts on culture through their work and personalities.”
Will Penny is one of those “culture shifters,” and is an artist that Laney has watched grow.
“My interest in painting kind of started when I was in college because, where I grew up, I didn’t have a lot of access to paintings. Most of the media that I saw was like animation and movies, and I thought I wanted to be an animator myself,” said Penny.
Penny was born in Woodstock, Ontario, and now lives and works in Savannah. He received his MFA and BFA in painting from the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD).
“It’s been a shift going from growing up there to living here and choosing to live here ever since school. There’s something interesting about Savannah, the people here, its growth, its history, and the types of spaces that we have,” said Penny.
His work has been exhibited at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Francis Marion University in Florence, South Carolina and Telfair Museums to name a few.
“Will Penny turn everything on its head. He thinks about things differently. His vision is that he’s just constantly questioning things. He’s constantly thinking about things. He doesn’t like formulas. He is intentionally driving certain concepts to a new level,” said Laney about Penny’s work.
He is the recipient of the SCAD Dean’s Fellowship award, and his work has been acquired by collections such as Telfair Museums, Google Ventures, and the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Savannah, however, continues to intrigue Penny.
“There’s just a really good energy about all of the growth that’s constantly happening here, and that’s fueling me to go in the studio and try harder and push myself and see what I can contribute to that too,” he said.
The event is on Friday, Sept. 29, from 6 to 8p.m.
Visit thompsonsavannah.com for more information.
This article appears in Connect Savannah | September, 2023.
