A West Virginia University art student graduating in May with a Master of Fine Arts degree is exhibiting his work through April 3 in the Creative Arts Center’s Laura Mesaros Gallery.

Bradley C. Birkhimer’s ceramic exhibition,Functional Evolution,shows the influence of the semester he spent studying in China as part of the Division of Art’s exchange program with Jingdezhen Ceramics Institute.

Spending a semester in China provided me with a framework to connect Chinese sensibilities of ceramics, cuisine and architecture in subtle ways in my work,Birkhimer said.Also, an important part of my work is the glaze surface and my research with wood ash. I gathered ash from friends and local businesses to create an organic, varied surface on my forms.

The minerals in the ashes, mixed with other ceramic material, create a skin of rivulets, orruns,’with subtle richness and texture,he added.This unique characteristic of ash glaze is what intrigues me and has been my main research this past year and a half.

Open in the Paul Mesaros Gallery will be a selection from the WVU art collection.

This exhibition,Seen and (un)Seen,is drawn from recent donations, promised gifts and art from the collection that has not been exhibited previously, said Mesaros Galleries curator Robert Bridges.

Some of the donors include Ramona Lampell, Dr. Gina Puzzuoli Miller and Frank Babb. This exhibition will also be on view through April 3.

All Mesaros Galleries events are free and open to the public.

For more information, call curator Robert Bridges at (304) 293-4841 ext. 3210.