Posted by Rebecca Stern
At 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 15, the Schick Art Gallery began its 2012 - 2013 season with the annual "Selected Art Faculty Exhibition."
Faculty members are chosen to present on a rotation every few years, and create a show of varied artistic styles and mediums. The ensuing diversity leads to more opportunities for inspiration and allows students to see what their professors do outside of the classroom.
"It is important to show my students that I am a working artist, and that I own my own studio," said Trish Lyell, visiting assistant professor of the Art Department. Lyell teaches Studio Art, Drawing and Painting this semester. Her drawings are inspired by the radio show "Radio Lab," and its focus on the unknown edges of the galaxy.
Visiting Assistant Professor Victoria Palermo's bright mod architecture greatly contrast with Lyell's intricate drawings. Palermo's work focuses on the display of color and space, which enhances her work overall. The viewer is inclined to imagine walking through the different color rubber, to see how the colors change as they go through each other.
Drawing and Painting Professor Deborah Morris had a much different approach to her paintings. Her works attempt to find underlying connections between objects such as peas and paint. Her work "P's" encompasses different items that begin with the letter, closing them within the confines of a canvas.
The exhibit also serves as the debut of new Ceramics Professor Matthew Wilt, who was formerly the Associate Professor of Art at Southern Illinois University. Wilt said one of his teaching missions is to show what can be created through ceramics, "besides a pinch pot." Inspired by Dadaism in the 1930s and the Industrial Revolution, he makes his pieces as complex as machinery with electrical movement. The presence of Wilt's work acts as an inspiration to students by displaying clay's versatility as a material.
The variety of pieces in this staff exhibition displays the wide range of art that can be explored and achieved at the college, and how creative concepts can be translated through painting, drawing and sculpture. Curatorial Assistant Rebecca Shepard considered the opening a success, observing that a fall event "adds a sense of community."
The Selected Faculty Arts Exhibition remained on display through Oct. 21.