Charleston-based artist Robert Maniscalco presents Identity and Self, a collection of paintings that center around how identity interferes with our true self, our true freedom, which is a central value for an artist, as well as any self-actualized individual. Maniscalco questions who we are at our core, after we strip away the names we call ourselves, the parties with whom we affiliate, the causes for which we are fighting. After all, these are all inventions of the ego, which separate us from God and the infinite. Existence consists of light on form. Light is his medium as an artist. Maniscalco is a painter of the self, always looking for something deeper than the surface representations in his subjects. It is the true self he is looking for when he paints, whether it is an orange, a sky, or a judge. Diane Wager Bower’s visual interpretation of the world is informed by patterns and nature. Poetry and math, with their inherent rhythms and unique ability to describe the world, also inform her visual arts endeavors, as her eye naturally reduces what she sees to its essence: lines, textures, patterns of shape, and color. Her concern for sustainability motivated her to use salvaged construction materials to create her latest works in her exhibit The Art of Construction. The show features multimedia pieces and pastel works on paper and building materials, in which she incorporated lath as a device for screen-printing and wax rubbings. Through her lived experience and passion for creativity, Diane expresses her love of nature, and her feeling for our common humanity, through her art. The artists will host a free public reception at the gallery on Friday, April 3, from 5-7pm.