Congratulations to printmaking professor Laura Bigger, who has a solo show of her “Elements” series at the Crary Art Gallery in Warren, PA, and another in Nashville.
Congratulations also to painting professor Lindsey Dunnagan, who had a solo exhibition this year. “Pursuing Echoes,” a solo show by Lindsey Dunnagan, was on display from February 7 – March 10 at the Art Gallery at Umpqua Community College in Roseberg, Oregon.
Congratulations to our Department Chair, Professor Aaron Fine, for his new book!
Color Theory Cover
This book discusses color theory from its ancient origins to the present, and provides a fascinating contribution to art theory using one of art’s essential building blocks. Professor Fine discusses aspects of color that are long-recognized as important but by analyzing “colonialist and gendered attitudes, materialist and romanticist perspectives, spiritualist approaches to color, color in the age of reproduction, and modernist and post-modernist color strategies” (from the Amazon description of the text) he provides a new framework that allows the application of color theory to practical applications. Published by Bloomsbury Press and gorgeously illustrated, you can order direct from the publisher or from your local bookstore or through Amazon. Congratulations, Aaron!
Russell (Rusty) Nelson, Professor of Design
Design Professor Russell Nelson and Ceramics Professor Eric Ordway have both been selected as Featured Artists for the month of August by the Missouri Arts Council. The MAC selects artists with diverse demographics and locations throughout the state who are producing quality original work in a variety of art mediums and genres.
Reclaimed (watercolor) by Russell Nelson
Green Tea Set, Stoneware with Green Celadon By Eric Ordway
Eric Ordway, Professor of Ceramics
Professor of Printmaking Laura Bigger has been selected as one of the Missouri Artists of the Month by the Missouri Arts Council. In her artist’s statement she writes:
My work explores the relationships that exist among humans, animals, and ecosystems, particularly in terms of the food chain, raw materials, and the human tendency to exert control over natural systems. My art considers existential quandaries such as what it means to be a human today, how we can live in the world responsibly, and what our obligation is to do so. As a multimedia artist, I question anthropocentric viewpoints and interpret the manmade environment primarily through print, drawing, and installation.
Ice Flare Detail 6, Mixed Media on Acrylic
Professor Lindsey Dunnagan has told us about her current exhibition at Weinberger Fine Art in Kansas City, MO. The Exhibition is titled “Northern Catch” and she writes:
This series is a pleasure project inspired by my childhood of growing up in Anchorage, Alaska where I spent time by the ocean and watched the sky for the Aurora Borealis. Each piece is multi layered and includes images offish nets, the shapes of icebergs, and patterns found in the Alaskan landscape, such as ice striations. Formally, some pieces are linked to one another because the series responds to and plays with process scraps. For example, “Migrating Silver” is made of several paper layers. The top layer has a hole cut in the shape of a fish net. Inside the hole are other fish net and ice berg shapes cut out of other paintings. Every cut form becomes part of a new work. The playful process of this work parallels my glance back at childhood. By manipulating shapes from the place I love, the work evokes a panglossian nostalgia.
Ice Flare Detail 2, mixed media on acrylic
Sun Shimmer, watercolor, graphite, and silver leaf on paper
Our own Priya Kambli has been chosen by the Missouri Arts Council as the recipient of the Missouri Arts Award for Individual Artist – our State’s highest honor in the arts. “Honorees are recognized for their profound and lasting contributions to Missouri’s artistic and cultural legacy.”
The press release says:
Individual Artist | Priya Kambli, Kirksville
Internationally recognized photographer whose art is suffused with themes of loss, love, and memory across generations of family, inspired by the archive of family heirlooms, artworks, and photographs she brought with her to the U.S. when she migrated from India at age 18.
Congratulations to Professor Kambli!
The Maybee Art Gallery at Culver-Stockton College currently features “Spectrum Gaps,” a solo show by Professor Lindsey Dunnagan. It will be open from September 3rd to November 20th, but is not open to the public.
Eve’s Garden, by Matthew Derezinski, 2020.
This 15th edition of the Pollux Awards has been pre-screened by the curators of the Worldwide Photography Gala Award and juried by Julio Hirsch-Hardy, director of the Biennial of Fine Art & Documentary Photography. A total of 439 photographers from 41 countries submitted 3,505 photographs for consideration of the pre-selection team of the Worldwide Photography Gala Awards and the final selection of the juror.
Professor Laura Bigger was the subject of an interview in Art Reveal Magazine. Congratulations on the recognition! In the interview, she talks about her own art and contemporary art more broadly. One of the focuses is on her most recent series of work, Celestial Bodies. Here is a sample of that work:
Radiate, monoprint (intaglio & relief with copper leaf), 10.5 x 14.5,” 2019
Truman’s Ceramicist Eric Ordway recently visited the College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, MO (just south of Branson). The campus is currently closed to visitors but Dr. Richard Cummings and Professor Michael Ashley found a way for him to still come down and demonstrate his practice to the students.
He writes: “One of the moments that I really enjoy (besides getting to dialogue with their amazing ceramic students) was when I got to see my work installed and lighted in the studio space for the first time. I have been living with this work in my basement and my garage for the last year and it had started to feel under whelming… But when the work was displayed, lighted and given space to breath, it felt like I was able to see the pieces with new eyes. It gave me a sense of pride and confidence to continue making and continue to share my process and my vessels with the wider world.”
Congratulations to Eric Ordway for his beautiful work and impressive show. We are pleased you had a chance to share your work with a new audience!
