CLEMSON – The Center for Visual Arts – Lee Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of the B.F.A. student exhibition April 14, 2014 with artist talks and reception, Friday, April 18th starting at 6:30 p.m. The exhibit showcases the culmination of senior studio research for the graduating class of 2014. The exhibit will showcase oil paintings by Ashley Davis, Georgia Haas, and T. J. Fletcher; drawings by Chi-Chen Lee; photos by Sarah Phillips and Elisabeth Smith; and woodcut prints by Annemarie Weekley.
The gallery walls will be brimming with the work of seven up and coming artists to be, in one of the largest senior showcases for Clemson’s Art Department. While the styles and breadth of work-paintings, photos, and prints- are unique in their own right, this group of emerging artists shares an underlying perspective and tactic of abstraction in many manifestations. Many of the works on view in the exhibition rely on perspective and the conceptual route of abstraction, dissipation, and deconstruction as inspiration for their creative research. Works in the exhibit explore a range of ideas starting from a reformation of a dissipated memory, to the annihilation of a constructed notion of one’s self-awareness; from the abstracted re-proposition of a minimalistic movement to the satirical breakdown of societal intemperance. Other works explore a dispersion of sheltered confines for a radical immersion into nature or the transcendence of the plague of disease; even the stripping of the non essential in order to revel in the grain and simplicity in a natural medium. With the dynamism of color, angles, and abstracted compilations of broken barriers, these seven students have put forth a challenge for the active approach and responsibility of the viewer to absorb.
The visual production is only a piece of the research and creative development pursued in the four year Clemson B.F.A. program. Students explore concepts, purposes of intent, art historical discourse, personal histories, and new processes, creating a conceptual foundation for their visual work. For the artist, this is an ever evolving and essential process. Join the conversation and join the artist talk, scheduled for Friday, April 18th, 6:30 P.M. before the reception.
The exhibit runs April 14-24, 2014. Each artist will give a five-minute talk about their work followed by a reception for the artists on Friday, April 18, starting at 6:30 pm. The opening reception and artist talks are free, open public and hosted by the artists and their families. The Lee Gallery at Clemson University hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. For more information about the exhibit contact Lee Gallery Exhibits Preparator, Jac Kuntz, at jkuntz@g.clemson.edu.
About the Art Galleries and Exhibits at the Center for Visual Arts – Clemson University
There are several galleries on and off campus maintained by the Center for Visual Arts through the Lee Gallery and Center for Visual Arts – Greenville. Exhibitions on and off campus provide the University and surrounding community with access to regional, national and international visual arts and artists. The Lee Gallery and CVA-Greenville also provides programmatic offerings such as artist presentations, guest speakers, walking tours, and special events designed to introduce audiences to creative research, influences and ideas being explored by artists showcased in the galleries.
At the end of each semester the Lee Gallery showcases artwork of undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in the Department of Art academic program. Students are required to present a final thesis of their creative research in a professional exhibition format as part of their degree fulfillment. Artists included in exhibitions are asked to deliver a public presentation about the content, inspiration and historical context of their work to the general public. Artists’ presentations serve to provide the community with an access point for understanding artistic research practice and individual motivations for creating visual art.
Galleries, special exhibits, artwork and/or showcases can be found on the main Clemson campus in our flagship Lee Gallery located in Lee Hall I as well as the Acorn Gallery in Lee Hall II. Throughout campus visitors can also enjoy exhibits showcased at the College of Architecture Arts and Humanities Dean’s Gallery in Strode Tower, Sikes Hall Exhibit Showcase in Sikes, and the Brooks Center for Performing Arts. Gallery showcases off-campus can be found at the Center for Visual Arts – Greenville in the Village of West Greenville, the International Center for Automotive Research (ICAR) in Greenville, the Charles K. Cheezem OLLI Education Center in Patrick Square, and The Madren Center at the Conference Center and Inn both in Clemson.