The University of Northern Iowa Gallery of Art is continuing its tradition of introducing viewers to brand new artwork and experiences.
Currently, the Gallery has two exhibitions open to the public.
One of the current exhibitions is titled “Texts by Design: Works from the UNI Permanent Art Collection and University Special Collections.” The exhibition was curated by UNI Department of Art Professor of Art History and Department Head, Dr. Elizabeth Sutton.
The exhibition includes a variety of books, manuscripts and texts from many different time periods and it is located in the Mary Haskell-Hansen Room. The exhibition is open until Thurs., Sept. 26, but will reopen from Oct. 10 through Nov. 15 and Dec. 9 through Dec. 20.
The other exhibition that is currently open is titled “It is a solo exhibition created by award-winning artist Aaron Coleman. His artwork focuses on how mundane artifacts can embody the complex history of race and class in the United States. All of the pieces featured in the exhibition reflect this theme.
“Something I love about the exhibition that’s up right now is it’s very powerful in the way that it confronts race and classism–a really hard topic for a lot of people. It shows students how to dig deep into their own kind of histories,” said Laura Gleissner, Director of the UNI Gallery of Art.
According to a statement made by Coleman, some of the mundane objects he uses in his artwork consists of picket fences, coloring books, basketball court flooring and more. The mundane objects in his artwork are depicted alongside a contrary or jarring image. The goal of this is to reflect uncomfortable truths and suppressed stories. These stories could be both personal and political. Coleman also mentioned in a statement how his artwork is grounded in research.
“The way that he’s researched both from past, present and future I think is really important, and figuring out how to make work that is so personal to you but also so beautiful at the same time,” Gleissner said.
Not only is Coleman featuring his artwork in the UNI Gallery of Art, but he has also been at UNI all week helping print with the advanced print students.
“He’s very hands-on; answering questions, meeting with lots of different classes, as well as having all of his work in [the Gallery],” said Gleissner.
The artist talk and closing reception took place on Tuesday, Sept. 24 and the exhibition will be open until Thurs. Sept.26.
If viewers of the UNI Gallery of Art are unable to visit the two exhibitions currently open, there is another opportunity to view more artwork at the Gallery’s third exhibition of the semester.
The Gallery will present “Alumni Spotlight: Diverse Perspectives in Graphic Design” for this year’s Elena Diane Curris Biennial Design Exhibition. The exhibition will be open October 10 through November 15. It will feature artwork by the UNI Department of Art alumni, faculty and students.
This will be the third time the Gallery has hosted this exhibition. It is named after Elena Diane Curris, daughter of former university president Constantine (Deno) Curris and Jo Hern Curris. Elena was deeply interested in design and the support for this series was made possible by a generous endowment from Elena’s family as well as additional contributions from family and friends who hope to promote the graphic design program at UNI.
The artwork featured in the exhibition will focus on graphic design, particularly four alumni graphic design students that have gone on to work for prestigious graphic design firms or have started their own design firm. Each artist will have one room in the Gallery to demonstrate their graphic design styles, their way of working and the clients they work with in their profession.
The four alumni who will be featured in the main exhibition are Jill Paisley, Sarah Steil, Stephanie Mathena and Luke Vaughn.
Four current UNI graphic design students will also be featured in the Gallery Showcases. They include Dylan Lundquist, Megan Anderson, Chloe Russell and Sam Benson.
Glessiner is excited for the experience students will gain by taking part in the Elena Diane Curris Biennial Design Exhibition.
“We’ve done a lot of printing in house. I have four gallery director’s assistants that are helping me with that,” Glessiner said. “Just being able to get them real life experience and kind of give them posters and things that they’re mounting while working with these designers has been really fun.”
Students have numerous opportunities to get involved with the UNI Gallery of Art, whether it is through using the Gallery for a class or taking part in exhibitions like the Elena Diane Curris Biennial Design Exhibition.
One example of this is the annual Juried Student Art Exhibition. This exhibition takes place every spring and every student who is enrolled in at least one art class is able to submit three pieces to be featured in the Gallery. The selection process for the exhibition is competitive as last year there were around 233 submissions and only 69 pieces were accepted for the exhibition. The students are able to win awards for their artwork and can even sell their artwork.
Other than the exhibitions featuring students, the Gallery features two solo or group exhibitions each year from outside sources. These artists are chosen by faculty. The Gallery also hosts a faculty exhibition that coincides every other year with the Elena Diane Curris Biennial Design Exhibition. Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) students also have the opportunity to feature their work in their thesis exhibitions. One BFA exhibition takes place in both the fall and spring. The Gallery also hosts performance art experiences throughout the year.
To learn more about the UNI Gallery of Art, visit gallery.uni.edu.
