The Johnson Center for the Arts will host a reception and art talk honoring artists, Darius Hill and Scott Meyer, from 6 until 8 p.m. on Thursday.

“We invite our community to turn off their televisions Thursday evening, grab some friends and come to the Johnson Center for the Arts for creative and enlightening evening reception of art and music,” said Vicki Pritchett, JCA executive director. “The reception is a great time to browse through unique exhibits of art by two prominent Alabama artists and to interact with the artists as they talk about their work.”

Time will also be set aside around 7 p.m. for formal presentations by Hill and Meyer followed by a question and answer time.

“Each artist will have 15 minutes to talk about his artwork and the inspiration for his work,” Pritchett said. “Then, we’ll take a few minutes for any follow-up questions anyone might have.”

Darius Hill is chair of the Visual Arts Department at the Alabama School of Fine Arts. He holds a bachelor’s degree in printmaking from the Atlanta College of Art and a master’s in studio from the University of Alabama.

“He is an exhibiting artist and participates in shows throughout the southeast,” Pritchett said. “His work is represented in many collections including museum, corporate, and private. He was awarded an Individual Artist Fellowship from the Alabama State Council on the Arts.”

Hill has earned several honors and awards including Operation New Birmingham Best in Show Award at the Magic City Art Connection. He was one of 13 Alabama printmakers selected to work with the University of Montevallo’s Big Print project. Work generated from the project traveled to major museums throughout the state.

Meyer, professor of art at the University of Montevallo, is in his 30th year on the UM faculty. He exhibits his ceramics nationally and internationally.

His fascination with contemporary applications of tradition began at Penn State University where he did simultaneous work as a scholar and a studio artist earning a doctorate degree in 1985.

“This interest, along with his affinity for collaboration, led to the construction of the anagama kiln at the University of Montevallo and the assembly of the team that fires it,” Pritchett said.

His current work involves crucible forms realized alone as well as in combination with other collaborative artists currently known as the Crucible Project.

“The reception is an opportunity to meet these two outstanding Alabama artists and the art talk is an opportunity to learn about their artwork and the creative process of their work,” Pritchett said.

“We invite everyone to join us Thursday night as we welcome Darius and Scott to the Johnson Center.”