Untraditional Faculty Art Show Offers Intimate View
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 29, 2018) — As an art student, what better way is there to get to know your professor than through their own artistic vision? This will be possible for many of University of Kentucky’s own aspiring young artists, as well as the community at large, as the Bolivar Art Gallery stages its first show of the year, “Faculty Series: VOL. II,” the second annual exhibition featuring recent work of select faculty members from the UK School of Art and Visual Studies. The free public exhibit, which runs Aug. 30-Sept. 29, will open with a reception 4:30-6:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 30, at the gallery in the Art and Visual Studies Building.
A slight departure from the traditional "faculty show" format, the series occurs annually and represents only a portion of the faculty, with different artists exhibiting each year. This installment includes work in a variety of media including installation, photography, animation, fiber, sculpture, drawing, printmaking and mixed media.
“Faculty Series: VOL. II” will showcase the work of Doreen Maloney, associate professor of new media; Paul Rodgers, lecturer of digital media; Lee Ann Paynter, lecturer of digital media foundations; Crystal Gregory, assistant professor of fiber arts; Garrett Hansen, assistant professor of photography; Bob Shay, professor of ceramics and former dean; Jeremy Colbert, facilities specialist in sculpture and ceramics; Mia Cinelli, assistant professor of digital media and design; Jonathan McFadden, assistant professor of printmaking; and Joel Feldman, adjunct professor of drawing and printmaking. With only 10 artists featured, the exhibition offers viewers an opportunity to get a more in-depth, intimate view of the faculty member’s work and thoughts on such topics as evolution, free will, politics, gun culture, healing, attachment to technology and finding balance.
Several events will be presented in conjunction with “Faculty Series; VOL. II” for those interested in learning more about the artists and their work. Other programs scheduled for the exhibition include:
- an artists’ gallery talk, noon Friday, Sept. 7;
- contemporary art talk with independent curator Julien Robson, noon Friday, Sept. 21;
- a Gallery Hop reception, 6-8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 21; and
- an artists’ gallery talk, noon Friday, Sept. 28.
As an independent curator, Robson shares his time between the U.S. and Austria. Educated at art schools in the United Kingdom, he began his curatorial career in the university gallery system in England and subsequently spent 10 years working in private galleries in Vienna. After moving to the U.S. in 2000, for eight years Robson served as curator of contemporary art at the Speed Art Museum in Louisville, Kentucky, before moving to the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art in Philadelphia. Organizing many solo and group exhibitions at these museums, his publications include “Gathering Light: Richard Ross” (2001); “Reverie: Works from the Collection of Douglas S. Cramer” (2003); “Presence” (2005); “Werner Reiterer: Raw Loop” (2008); and “Philagrafika: The Graphic Unconscious” (2011).
In 2012, Robson began working independently and, as part of Vienna’s Curated by initiative, organized the exhibition “Mel Chin: It’s Not What You Think.” Subsequently moving back to Louisville, he began curating the collection of art collector Al Shands and, in 2013, edited and contributed to ”Great Meadows: The Making of Here,” a book about the Shands' house and collection. In 2015, he helped found INhouse, an initiative of Kentucky contemporary art collector and philanthropist Brook Smith that supports residencies and special creative projects. The following year, Robson was appointed director of the Great Meadows Foundation, an initiative of Shands that supports the growth of artistic activity in the Kentucky region.
The Bolivar Art Gallery is located on the first floor of the Art and Visual Studies Building, located at 236 Bolivar St. Gallery viewing hours are 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday and noon-4 p.m. Saturday.
The UK School of Art and Visual Studies at the College of Fine Arts is an accredited member of the National Association of Schools of Art and Design and offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in the fields of art studio, art history and visual studies, art education, and digital media and design.