Student artists to speak at gallery reception Thursday
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Student artists to speak at gallery reception Thursday
Sculpture, jewelry, watercolor and stoneware works from eight OSU students will be featured in the Senior Studio Capstone Exhibition, from Nov. 28 – December 7 at the Gardiner Art Gallery. The students, who are scheduled to graduate with bachelor of fine arts degrees in December, will talk about their works during a public reception on Thursday, Nov. 29 from 6 to 7 p.m. in the gallery at Bartlett Center for the Visual Arts. The reception will start at 5 p.m.
Student artists with works featured in this exhibition include Brice Chaffin, Megan Curtis, Hillarey Dees, Katie Hagen, Tyler Prahl, Deann Stone, Lopeeta Tawde, and Ben Trosper.
Works on view represent student artists’ impressive achievements after a process of synthesis, analysis and reflection during their studies at OSU. Mentored by their faculty, students demonstrate their critical thinking and artistic skills, as well as their awareness of professional exhibition practices.
In his “Impression” series, Brice Chaffin created a group of bronze footprints and fingerprints cast out of molds taken from his wife and three small children. Chaffin’s work shows the strong connection and “impression” that his family has made on the artist.
Megan Curtis based her watercolor painting on biblical narratives and children’s fairytales, with a focus on the women in these stories. Through her works, Curtis expresses her concerns with the “women-inferior attitude” passed down with the oral tradition. By using symbols from Christianity and fairytales, she constructs familiar yet unsettling images.
Hillarey Dees creates jewelry that explores the process of textile production and metalsmithing. The juxtaposition of the cold metal and the warm fibers fulfills her tactile desires. For Dees, materials, organic or not, have their own voice and characteristics. She attempts to listen to them and reason with them until she finds a harmony where both elements can work together for a new purpose.
In her sculptural work, Katie Hagen utilizes images of technology to address interpersonal human relationships. She examines the symbolic meaning of telephone poles and power lines, which she feels represents the intricacies of human psychology and relationships, connection and separation.
Tyler Prahl creates functional and sculptural ceramic works, which are inspired by nature. The ceramic vessels and objects explore the connection between the everyday objects we use in our homes and the earth that supplies us the ingredients to make these objects.
Deann Stone uses brushes, India ink and watercolor. The imagery produced, which is inspired by the artist’s dreams, is fantastical, strange, and peppered with its own sense of humor. Stone enjoys playing with dualities, where the piece can look slightly disturbing but still be funny or mystical at the same time.
Lopeeta Tawde creates jewelry with a focus to reveal the intangible beauty of nature. She uses materials such as honeycomb, loofah, seed, dried leaves and shells. Tawde has been fascinated with unconventional ephemeral beauties and incorporates them in her jewelry design.
Ben Trosper paints with watercolor, with a focus on the many pulls and tensions in life and the way people deal with those tensions. His paintings aesthetically show that the body can be beautiful and disturbing at the same time. Trosper uses powerful lines and colors to illustrate his concept.
The Oklahoma State University Department of Art is dedicated to excellence in the education of all forms of art creation and offers an intensive program of studio art leading to the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. The Department offers introductory and advanced classes in studio art, which are complemented by a variety of classes in art history and liberal arts. Students are encouraged to explore new ideas and maintain and promote the highest design standards while keeping themselves abreast of contemporary developments in the studio art field.
First-rate teaching and mentoring from OSU art faculty is supported by vibrant programming, exhibitions, visiting artists, and workshops.
The Gardiner Art Gallery is fully accessible and located on the first floor of the Bartlett Center for the Visual Arts. Gallery hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Monday through Friday and 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. The gallery is closed on Sundays and university holidays. For more information, please call 405-744-4143 or visit museum.okstate.edu or www.facebook.com/GardinerArtGallery.
About the Gardiner Art Gallery
First opened in 1965, the Gardiner Art Gallery has become the central place for Oklahoma State University students and faculty to experience the visual arts. It offers a range of exhibitions that stimulate active learning, research and teaching about art.