More than 40 faculty and staff members are exhibiting their own creative work in the Glass Curtain Gallery, turning the space into a cross-section of the School of Visual Arts’ artistic practice.
The exhibition, titled the “Sophomore Show,” marks the school’s second year and features photography, fine art and illustration created by instructors and staff across the college. An opening reception was held Thursday, Feb. 19, and will run through March 14 at 1104 S. Wabash Ave.
Colorful mixed-media art lines the walls of the gallery space – a transformation that required weeks of preparation during J-Term.
“We cleaned all the walls, we mudded, so we used drywall compound to mud every inch of the walls up to 12 feet,” said Amy Leners, manager of the Makerspace facilities. “Then we used giant power sanders and painted everything and put up new vinyl.”
On one inside wall of the gallery, a derby car with a bunny driver created by Kumiko Murakami, an instructional specialist in the Makerspace, depicts last year’s Manifest derby race.
Jay Meyers, an administrative assistant for the School of Visual Arts, said the exhibition builds on others that the school put on in the past.
“It’s, like, a collection of photography, fine art and illustration,” Meyers said. “We did a show similar to this back when we were art and design, but I feel like this one is just better.”
The reception drew visitors from across campus, including alumni. Wynn Droz, a former illustration major, said he was struck by the range of approaches on display.
“I think one of my favorite parts in any collected workspace is seeing the difference between different artists’ approach, different use of mediums, because it forces you to compare them, but ideally, you’re not doing it in a critical way,” Droz said. “It forces you to look at the two things next to each other, and analyze the differences, which is something you don’t really do with a lot of this type of art.”
Droz said seeing professors exhibit their own work reinforces his confidence in the program.
“You know they have skin in the game,” he said.
Senior illustration major El Carrel said they attended the show opening to support their professor’s work but also to feel more connected to their classes.
“I think it’s very important for Colombia to showcase the professors that do work outside and how valuable that is to have a professor that has experienced the work, like recent work fields,” said Carrel.
Faculty said the showcase also strengthens ties among colleagues and students.
“I think one of the things that you get caught up in is how we do pedagogy, how we support our students. Oftentimes, what is lost is the magic of why we actually are in the shared experience,” said Chris Arnold, an associate professor in the School of Visual Arts and the coordinator of the illustration program.
Arnold has a painting in the show that was done in tribute to his father, who died almost 10 years ago. The painting depicts the ocean, which his father loved, and written on the back of the canvas is his dad’s favorite poem.
“This was that opportunity to be a little bit more intimate in a conversation about our work, and it breaks down a lot of those academic walls, and it all reminds us we’re all creatives together,” Arnold said.
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