New Exhibitions Opening at UCA’s Baum Gallery Sept. 6

The Baum Gallery of Fine Art at the University of Central Arkansas announces the upcoming shows Juried Bodies of Work: The Baum MFA Biennial and Small Talk: Works on Paper by Heather Gordon on display from Thursday, Sept.6-Thursday, Oct. 25.

A reception for the exhibitions will be held Thursday, Sept. 6, 2012 from 5 to 7 p.m.

The Baum MFA Biennial is an art competitive and exhibition held every other year inviting submissions by artists working in any medium who have recently completed their MFA programs in Studio Art. It awards individual exhibitions of work from the selected artists’ MFA thesis exhibition.

Juried Bodies of Work: The Baum MFA Biennial 2012 presents three talented artists who have recently completed their graduate programs: Jo Ann Block, Erica Nickol and Carmen Niichel. The artists were selected by distinguished juror, Victoria Reis, Executive and Artistic Director of Transformer, D.C.  

MFA graduate Jo Ann Block of Washington D.C. explores the many facets of homosexual identity with her mixed media work. Block utilizes digital photographs, paper, plastic, plywood, and vinyl among other materials to create her unique collages.

Erica Nickol offers a new perspective to the ceramic world with her porcelain sculptures. Nickol Also uses wood, rope and steel to create her works that are “inspired by gravity, instability, fragility and tension.”

Carmen Niichel creates acrylic paintings on plexiglass and canvas that display violent, gory and self-indulgent fantastical scenes. Niichel proclaims, “my paintings are places which hint at the destruction underlying their construction” and offers viewers a layered, meaningful experience.

Small Talk: Works on Paper by Heather Gordon is a solo exhibition that samples pieces from two of Gordon’s series: Comparatives and Small Talk. Gordon’s 2-D works explore the nature of communication in modern technology by objectifying current issues onto paper. Her Comparatives series utilizes binary code to embody and compare modern social problems. As well, the artist draws directly on New York Times’ front pages in her Small Talk series to create an altered and skewed version of the news. In this show, Heather Gordon gives Baum Gallery visitors a visual summary of contemporary society.

These shows will provide a wide array of materials and concepts for viewers to take in.

“I’m glad that we have the ability to provide this opportunity for the artists as well as for the UCA community.” said Baum Director Barclay McConnell.

The Baum Gallery’s hours of operation are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday 1-5 p.m. Entry to the exhibition is free.

For more information on the Baum, visit http://uca.edu/art/baum or contact McConnell at (501) 450-5792 or barclaym@uca.edu.