Alma College Faculty Display Artwork in Biennial Exhibition
The Alma College Faculty Biennial Exhibition in the Flora Kirsch
Beck Art Gallery running through November 11 exhibits a multitude of
powerful art created by the College's art and design faculty. As you
walk into the gallery, the high ceilings and skylights offer natural
lighting to highlight works of art in traditional and nontraditional
mediums.
The faculty exhibit showcases a wide variety of media including ceramic, paintings, photography and sculpture. Tina Hartley, College alumnus and one of the visiting artists featured, shows a series of five pastel paintings centered on the unique subject of the faculty dining room. Her work is alive with mythological and imaginative themes inspired by a place she visits everyday.
Hartley said, "It's a highly charged place that's important to this campus where I found a very rich resource for imagery. I am really appreciative of ideas that are a part of the world I live in and are relevant to this place. Alma's an interesting place. It's all right here."
Professor Carrie Anne Parks, a nationally recognized ceramic artist, displays her series of ceramic teapots and four color drawings based on Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Parks' art is fired with rich and vibrant colors and intriguing detail.
"It's interesting," she said, "trying to turn a human figure into a teapot. I went back and reread Chaucer and read different versions. The more I knew the more I was interested. In the project it was a challenge to visually represent these stories when there's a lot going on. The humor in the Tales is obvious, but also I tried to make figures that are beautiful and pretty even while not so pretty things were going on."
Sandy Lopez-Isnardi, associate professor of art and design, displays her photography, digital art and graphic design. Robert Rozier, associate professor of art and design, has his paintings, prints and drawings on display. Ryan Flesher, sculpture, and Michael Volker, painting, are featured visiting artists.
The closing reception for the faculty art show is scheduled for November 11 from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. and includes an artist's talk and refreshments, free to the public.
The 24th Annual Statewide Print Competition, the final show of the fall semester, runs from November 15-December 9. Judged this year by Hugh Merrill, the competition features the best works of Michigan printmakers.
Merrill is an artist, educator, and writer. His artwork has been exhibited internationally and his work has been collected by major Museums such as the Museum of Modern Art, New York, the Harvard Art Museums, the Cranbrook Museum, the Minneapolis Museum of Art, and the Nelson Atkins Museum among others. His articles on the redefinition of art, printmaking and education have been published internationally and have had a seminal effect on the dialogue to change educational processes across the country.
The gallery is located in the Clack Art Center at the College. It is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., but closed during school breaks. For more information call (989) 463-7286 or email lopez_isnard@alma.edu.
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Contact Skip Traynor
Media Relations Editor
(989) 463-7232 or traynor@alma.edu
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Posted: Thu, October 28th, 2004 at 10:42AM
