Visiting Artist / Lecture
Center for Art and Theatre to host contemporary art exhibition
The Georgia Southern University Center for Art and Theatre on the Statesboro Campus will host “Mode/Code,” a contemporary art exhibition featuring paint, textiles, illustration and digital exploration, through Feb. 12. A virtual artist talk will be on Feb. 11 at 5:30 p.m.
“I’ve followed the work of these artists for years,” said Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art Gallery Director Jason Hoelscher. “I have seen and shown some of their work before. I’ve never seen them exhibited together, however, and I look forward to seeing what visual and conceptual magic happens when their work converges in one gallery space.”
The virtual artist talk will feature emerging artists Trish Andersen, Andrea Caretto, Will Penny, Michael Porten, Jen Small, Britt Spencer and Ben Tollefson. Due to COVID-19, gallery capacity is limited and guests must wear a mask and stay 6 feet apart.
Alyce Santoro’s “Tonal Relativity” opens at Center for Art & Theatre in November
Visiting artist makes visual art that “sings”
The Georgia Southern University Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art will present Alyce Santoro’s Tonal Relativity in the University Gallery at the Center for Art and Theatre from Nov. 7 – Dec. 9. A public lecture and reception will be Thursday, Nov. 10. 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.
“Alyce’s exhibition is a must-see show of recent work by an artist whose driving force is to mix and commingle otherwise different mediums and disciplines. She makes paintings out of sound spectrums, writes books about the unspeakable, and uses magnetic tape to create clothes and other objects that sing,” said Gallery Director Jason Hoelscher.
Having set out early on to make subtle wonders of science and nature visible and/or audible, Santoro has come to explore the cultural phenomena that cause disciplines to be viewed as separate, and the ways that “social imaginaries” are formed and can shift. Her Tonal Relativity series uses a visual symbolic language to reveal patterns and interrelationships within a 12-tone musical system, and features work with both sonic and visual components. She refers to many of her multimedia works as philosoprops – devices used to demonstrate a concept, challenge perception, or spark a dialog.
“Alyce is like some sort of an artist from the year 2050, who just happened to end up in 2016. Having her here to exhibit her work and to meet with our students is a real treat,” Hoelscher said. Read more…
Structural Findings exhibition opens in University Gallery
Georgia Southern University’s Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art presents Structural Findings Jan. 11 to Feb. 12 on-campus in the University Gallery of the Center for Art & Theatre. The exhibition includes an artist lecture Thursday, February 11 at 5 p.m. in the Visual Arts Building, room 2071, followed immediately by an artist reception in the gallery. The events are free, and the public is welcome.
Structural Findings features work from Georgia Southern University alumnae Jean Gray Mohs and Lois Harvey. It is a collection of mixed media work and ceramic sculptures that explore the idea of structures, in material and in concept. The exhibition examines the new routines, patterns and relationships that materialize after a pivotal shift in one’s life and offers a tangible representation of how changes in one’s perspective determines his or her perception of the world.
“These artworks attempt to capture and reconcile the transformations that shifted in my role within society after becoming a mother,” Mohs wrote. “The works represent two intersecting and overlapping planes of disharmonic, ethereal space within the framework of an architectural place. The precise use of material and movement is meant to pair a confined isolated space within a more expansive atmospheric place. The resulting architectural landscapes depict a richly layered composition that invites the viewer to look within.”
Harvey uses her ceramic sculptures to translate an intangible physiological experience with the inherently tangible material of clay. She develops three-dimensional drawings using clay as her vocabulary to describe psychological structures we build to contain, store, and recall the memories, experiences, and interactions that make life meaningful. Harvey writes “This past year I transitioned into a new community after moving fromGeorgia to Philadelphia. This work represents my desire to understand and record how the structures of my relationships and identity have changed through this life experience.”
Gallery Director Jason Hoelscher says, “We are excited to present the work of two such accomplished Georgia Southern alumnae. While their works are compelling individually, when teamed together they highlight and articulate one another very interestingly, creating a dialogue between ways of mark-making in both two and three dimensions.”
Mohs received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2002 and a Masters of Art in Teaching in 2008 and currently is an active artist residing in North Carolina. Her work has been seen in Southern Living, Traditional Home and has been shown around the world. She recently released her first illustrated children’s book, Mamalu’s Secrets, which can be found at amazon.com.
Lois Harvey is from Statesboro, Georgia and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Ceramics from Georgia Southern University in 2014. Her work has been exhibited nationally, and she has been an artist in residence at the Hambidge Center for Art. She lives and makes work in Philadelphia and is on the staff of The Clay Studio, a non-profit ceramic arts education institution.
Arnold J. Kemp: Public Evidence Spectacle Opens In Contemporary Gallery
Arnold Kemp; What Actually Happens (See Black Say Red), 2013; Archival pigment prints on Somerset paper in Artist’s frames; 43.5″ x 35″ x 1.5″; Courtesy of the artist and PDX Contemporary, Portland, OR
Georgia Southern University’s Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art presents Arnold J. Kemp: Public Evidence Spectacle from September 29 – October 31 on-campus in the Contemporary Gallery of the Center for Art & Theatre. The exhibition includes an artist lecture Thursday, October 2, at 5 p.m. in the Visual Arts Building, Room 2071, followed immediately by an artist reception in the gallery. The events are free, and the public is welcome.
Kemp often utilizes various media to create objects that are immensely person and speak to what is both seen and unnoticed. Through the manipulation of materials, Kemp creates an environment that subtly confronts the viewer with notions of nature, identity, and history.
“This is an amazing opportunity for the Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art,” said Marc Mitchell, former gallery director for the Department. “Arnold Kemp is an artist, poet, and educator who has achieved international acclaim. His works are provocative and insightful. However, they demand that they viewer spends time with the objects and engages in reflection.”
Arnold J. Kemp is an associate professor and the chair of painting and printmaking at Virginia Commonwealth University. His work can be found in the collections of institutions such as The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York; The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York; Tacoma Art Museum; University of California-Berkeley Art Museum; and many others. He has been the recipient of several awards and grants, such as the Guggenheim Fellowship, Joan Mitchell Foundation Fellowship, and the Pollock Krasner Foundation Fellowship. He is represented by PDX Contemporary in Portland, Oregon.
Derrick Buisch: Off Season in the Center for Art & Theatre
The Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art at Georgia Southern University presents Derrick Buisch: Off Season from August 18 – September 19 on campus in the University Gallery of the Center for Art & Theatre. The exhibition includes an artist lecture Thursday, September 18, at 5 p.m. in the Visual Arts Building, Room 2071, followed immediately by an artist reception in the gallery.The events are free, and the public is welcome.
Derrick Buisch: Off Season features imagery culled from pedestrian subjects including maps, album covers, roadside signs, and commercial products. Informed through his practice of maintaining sketchbooks, Buisch creates distinctive images that present an extensive exploration of graphic motifs. Often influenced by aspects of music, such as LPs and zines, Buisch’s paintings and drawings are simultaneously playful, celebratory, and subversive.
“We are thrilled to show the work of Derrick Buisch,” said Marc Mitchell, the exhibition’s curator. “We live in a society where images and symbols are constantly around us – just look at the apps on our phones. Derrick Buisch explores the ways in which we can manipulate images and symbols to create a new and singular language.”
Buisch’s work has been shown at venues such as Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; Museum of Contemporary Art, Madison, Wisconsin; Muscarelle Museum of Art, Williamsburg, Virginia; The Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore; Mississippi State University; University of California-San Diego; and the London Biennale.
Buisch is represented by Tory Folliard Gallery in Milwaukee, WI. Learn more about Derrick Buisch at 202c.com.