Lee Renninger’s ceramics show ‘Botanica’ opens at the University Gallery in January

December 20, 2016

STATESBORO, Ga. – The Georgia Southern University Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art will present Lee Renninger’s Botanica in the University Gallery at the Center for Art and Theatre from Jan. 9 – Feb. 3. Botanica is a series of ceramic installations which explore the sense of play and lightheartedness inherent in the garden.

In 2013, Renninger began playing around with leftover parts from some of her past art installations. Laying them in stacks and trying different configurations, she turned them into humorous, colorful landscapes that were so addictively fun she was compelled to make more. The resulting pieces initiated the series, Botanica, a body of work that incorporates the rich color, detail and lavish qualities of the floral world to explore play and wonder—sometimes even in the darkest of contexts.

“I’m very excited about showing Renninger’s work,” said Gallery Director Jason Hoelscher. “Her approach to ceramics is quite different from the way we typically understand ceramics. I think most people think of a particular object, whether a cup or a sculpture, but few think of ceramics as a field of objects—less as something specific to focus on relative to a background, and more of lots of things to focus on all at once. Lee’s work is very exciting from a conceptual standpoint, and—of equal or greater importance—is lush, gorgeous and pleasing to the eye.”

The public is invited to a lecture and and reception on Thursday, Jan. 19. The Artist Talk will begin at 5 p.m. in Visual Arts Building, room 2071 and the reception will follow at the Center for Art & Theatre at 6 p.m.

The Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art (BFSDoArt) is committed to offering quality undergraduate and graduate degree programs that prepare students to become professional artists, designers, art historians and industry leaders. The BFSDoArt is recognized as an accredited member of the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD). For more information, visit GeorgiaSouthern.edu/art.

The College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS) is the largest of the eight colleges that make up Georgia Southern University, and it plays a central role in every student’s core of knowledge. CLASS, also described as the University’s College of the Creative Mind, prepares students to achieve academic excellence, develop their analytical skills, enhance their creativity and embrace their responsibilities as citizens of their communities, their nations and the world. CLASS offers more than 20 undergraduate degrees and several interdisciplinary minors from its 11 departments and five academic centers. CLASS offers eight master’s degrees, two graduate certificates and one doctoral degree.  For more information, visit cah.georgiasouthern.edu.

Georgia Southern University, a public Carnegie Doctoral/Research University founded in 1906, offers more than 125 degree programs serving more than 20,500 students. Through eight colleges, the University offers bachelors, masters and doctoral degree programs built on more than a century of academic achievement. Georgia Southern is recognized for its student-centered and hands-on approach to education. GeorgiaSouthern.edu.