A portfolio of works celebrating Native American perspectives and recent acquisitions by the WVU Art Collection are the new exhibits opening at the Mesaros Galleries in the Creative Arts Center beginning Tuesday, Oct. 14. Both exhibits will be open though Nov. 19.
Dog Head Stew,a recent WVU Art Collection acquisition, is an international portfolio exchange organized by Elizabeth Hanemann and will be on view in the Paul Mesaros Gallery. The portfolio celebrates Native American traditions and cultural persistence, which over time and situation have been redefined, honored, manipulated, categorized and stereotyped, but not vanquished. This portfolio invites personal and political expression honoring or criticizing past and present representations of Native American culture.
John Hitchcock, one of the artists participating in the portfolio exchange, will present a visiting artist lecture about the exhibition Thursday, Nov. 13, at 5 p.m. in the Bloch Learning and Performance Hall (Room 200A). A reception will follow at the galleries.
Shifting Meanings: The Layered Images of Hammond, Fitzpatrick and Mullwill be in the Laura Mesaros Gallery. According to curator Robert Bridges, the exhibition is primarily composed of recent acquisitions by the WVU Art Collection. The works were selected for the exhibition by Bridges and the students in his curatorial practice class. The three artists, Jane Hammond of New York City, Tony Fitzpatrick of Chicago, and Martin Mull of Los Angeles share common techniques in creating their highly personal images. Each artist builds layers of information to create ambiguous work that can be read in many ways.
Bridges will present a Gallery Talk about the exhibit Wednesday, Oct. 22, at 5 p.m. in the Bloch Learning and Performance Hall (Room 200A). A reception follows at the galleries.
Master collagist Jane Hammond’s work is composed of many layers of media, ideas and associations. She employs a library of found images and layers of paint to make works that are drawn from sources such as 19th-century technical manuals, antique childrens books, manuals on magic tricks, botanical guides and pornographic comics.
I take these found pieces of information and use them in different ways,she said.It is a kind of language in that the bit components were inherited, not invented, and the expression came in the combinations, contexts and manipulations.
Hammonds work is in The Art Institute of Chicago, Baltimore Museum of Art, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Cincinnati Art Museum, Grunewald Center for the Graphic Arts in Los Angeles, Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Chicago Museum of Fine Arts, and many others.
Tony Fitzpatrick’s work is a blend of imaginative imagery, detailed drawing and soul. There is seemingly innocent cartoon-like imagery, while a deeper, darker conflict is told through a narrative. Fitzpatrick a self-taught artist and also an actor who appeared in the movies”Philadelphia,”“Primal Fear,”and”Married to the Mob,”among others. He won a Jefferson Award for portraying the murderer James Huberty in the play he also scripted,”Mass Murderer.He is a poet with several books of poetry to his credit, and a radio talk-show host. Fitzpatrick’s works are in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Miami. He maintains a studio and Big Cat Press in Chicago.
Martin Mull is also widely known as a comedian, actor, musician and songwriter. But in the past few years he has developed a reputation as an outstanding painter. In Mulls paintings figures and forms float throughout the collage-like landscapes seemingly in some dialogue for the viewers visual interpretation. Mull often incorporates 1950s Americana themes in ironic ways. His work is included in many museum collections, including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and The Walker Art Center in Minneapolis.
Managed and programmed by Curator Robert Bridges and the WVU Division of Art, the Mesaros Galleries organize a diverse and exciting schedule of exhibitions throughout the year. The galleries are committed to showing experimental work that is innovative both in terms of media and content. The Mesaros Galleries also host contemporary artists of important or growing reputation who work in all media in the Visiting Artist program. All the gallery events and receptions are free and open to the public.
The Mesaros Galleries are open Monday through Saturday from Noon to 9 p.m. They are closed Sundays and on University holidays. Special viewing times may be arranged upon request.
For more information, contact Robert Bridges, curator, at (304) 293-2140 ext. 3210.