By Caitlin Sanders
The Faculty Exhibition in the Fine Arts Building gallery showcases assorted works from various participating studio professors presently teaching at Valdosta State University. The works included in this particular exhibition incorporate countless media following a predominantly contemporary style of art. Each work of art is exclusive to the artist’s specific focus in medium. The pieces comprise a respectable variety of media including two-dimensional art such as large-scale photographs, oil paintings on canvas, watercolor paintings on paper, photo collages, pen and ink and graphite on paper and three-dimensional art such as turned wood, small and large-scale mixed-media sculptures, and handcrafted ceramic pieces.
One individual piece that stood out to me in the gallery is a sculpture by Richard Peterman, my own Three-Dimensional Art professor my first year at Valdosta State University. The location of the work was toward the middle of the gallery positioned nearest to two-dimensional art. This piece, though it is a three-dimensional sculpture, is mounted to the wall, which makes for an interesting, aesthetically pleasing artistic choice and makes the sculpture stand out against the two-dimensional art, which was predominantly why it stuck out the most to me. Peterman’s sculpture was created using wood with a very dark stain with a layer of match sticks with swirling designs encircling the outer spherical shape. The title, Ignem Aeternum, unquestionably plays with the material choice of this piece for it can be translated from Latin to English as “Everlasting Fire.” The titles comes to mind for if one were to light even one of the single match sticks, the rest of the match sticks would also eventually be lit, engulfing the whole piece in flame.
One two-dimensional piece in this exhibition, Atmospheric Gaze #2, was created by my Two-Dimensional Art and Drawing II professor, Kalina Winska. This piece was created using ink and graphite on paper. The dimensions of this piece are not particularly large in scale; however, this piece still was able to capture my attention due to its unique originality. This piece was very subtle in color, but still very successful with the use of several different line techniques to create a sense of texture.
A large majority of the artworks were properly displayed in formal frames or mats, which helped to enhance the presentation of the pieces in the gallery. Most of the pieces not framed included some a large scale photographic print, which could perhaps be an artistic choice, and most of the paintings on canvas, which are commonly not framed.
The exhibition appeared to be well thought out and planned, with the placement of the different media around the gallery whether it be mounted on the gallery walls or displayed on columns toward the center of the gallery. The mediums were not sorted and categorized together, which personally allowed for my attention to move throughout the gallery as a whole and to stay interested.
This exhibition is very effective for showcasing the various talents and focus in media and fields of each of the studio professors. Showcasing the professors’ art helps lead to an elevation in enrollment for the art and design programs. The gallery opening in itself was a very joyful, celebratory event that supported the art and design programs as well as the individual artist careers of the professors. The opening was well planned with refreshments for guests as well as a small ensemble of instruments to enhance the atmosphere. All of the artists were present at the opening and willing to talk with visitors and guests. This willingness shows people outside of the department the enthusiasm the professors have in their fields. The show, especially considering that it was the first gallery opening of the semester, was ultimately a success as the result of pleasing gallery presentation, effective advertisement, and abundant attendance of artists and guests including other Valdosta State University faculty, fellow students, and visitors.
Caitlin Sanders is a Valdosta State University student pursuing a degree in art.