Juried Design and Kinetic Imaging Exhibition
March 21st through March 30th

This year, the University will be presenting the Juried Design and the Kinetic Imaging exhibitions concurrently with the 37th Annual Southern Graphics Council Conference hosted by vcuarts Painting and Printmaking Department and held on VCU’s Monroe Park Campus March 26th through 29th. The S.G.C. is a nonprofit organization which promotes the work of artists who make original prints, drawings, books, and hand-made paper. The Conference will draw national and international attention from the media and the art community at large.

To complement the Southern Graphics Council Conference, work presented in the Juried Student Design Exhibition embraces the S.G.C. concept of replication, reproduction, multiplication, and distribution as the show’s focus. The exhibition will feature seven graphics pieces designed by VCU School of the Arts in Qatar student, Bouthayna Al Maftah, and student work selected by faculty members from the vcuarts Communication Arts (Illustration, Drawing and Visual Studies,) Fashion Design, and Interior Design departments. Communication Arts inherently relate to these design arguments. Interior Design and Fashion Design students were challenged to incorporate the exhibition theme into their work, as well.

Assistant Professor, Rab McClure, explains, “Work done by students from the Department of Interior Design reflects this year’s theme in a number of ways. Selected examples demonstrate the value of systematic, incremental study across a variety of media… (It’s)…work that shows how students progressing through our curriculum become increasingly savvy users of technology, from photorealistic 3-D computer rendering to digital tools…this year’s selections exhibit how both design product and design process benefit from culling through many options in the ultimate search for a focused, refined solution.”

Fashion Design Professor, Kristin Caskey, puts a different spin on the theme of duplication and repetition. “ (the) Patterned Object…these clothes were created utilizing repeat print or pattern as the most defining element of the garment. The Mimaki TX2 large format digital fabric printer was used to create student-designed yardage for these pieces. Fashion offers the commercial multiple, while these are ‘one off’ items. Technology now allows small designers to replicate special production for a more intimate distribution.”

The vcuarts Kinetic Imaging Department faculty has chosen an independent juror to select their students’ pieces for the Design Exhibition. Meredith Johnson has been commissioned. Originally hailing from St. Louis, MO, Johnson is Curator and Producer of the Consulting Program at Creative Time, a New York organization that works with artists on projects that enliven public spaces by exploring ideas that shape society. She received her BA in Art from St. Mary’s College of Maryland and her MA in Curatorial Practice from the California College of the Arts. In addition to her work at Creative Time, Meredith is also a curator at Artists Space in New York.

Juried Fine Arts Exhibition April 11th – April 20th

The annual Juried Student Fine Arts Exhibition, now in its 36th year, will feature paintings, prints, sculptures, site-specific installations, drawings, crafts, photography, and video. Undergraduate students currently enrolled in studio classes in the School of the Arts are eligible to enter up to three pieces of work. Each year, the Anderson Gallery brings to Virginia Commonwealth University a noted expert to judge the student entries. The result is a stimulating exhibition, selected from some of the most interesting and challenging student work to be found anywhere in the country.

This year the juror for the Student Fine Arts Exhibition will be Beverly Semmes. A native of Washington DC, Semmes earned a BFA in Sculpture and a BA in Art History from Boston Museum School, attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture and the New York Studio School, and holds an MFA from Yale School of Art.

She lives and works in New York City. Semmes creates large-scale dresses that hang high on the wall, cascading in luscious folds, often onto the gallery floor. Celebrated internationally, her monumental sculptures as well as her smaller fabric creations are provocative fusions of personal fantasy and social commentary. Beverly Semmes is no stranger to VCU, having functioned as juror, guest lecturer, visiting artist, and student mentor for the vcuarts Crafts/Material Studies Department in recent years.

MFA Thesis Exhibition (Round 1) April 25th – May 4th
MFA Thesis Exhibition (Round 2) May 9th – May 18th

The Master of Fine Arts Thesis Exhibition is the final requirement for students earning a master’s degree in the fine arts and design departments from VCU. The exhibitions provide a forum for emerging artists to display their work and give viewers a “preview” of new directions in the visual arts. Each of the participating artists will exhibit work that represents the culmination of their 2 year masters program in one of the following disciplines: Painting and Printmaking, Sculpture and Extended Media, Communication Arts, Crafts/Material Studies, Photography and Film, and Interior Design. “These exhibitions provide an excellent opportunity for viewers to invest in up-and-coming artists, as many of the pieces on view will be available for purchase,” remarks Amy Moorefield, Anderson Gallery Assistant Director and Curator of Collections.

The Master of Fine Arts Thesis Exhibition (Round 1) will be on display from April 25th through May 4th, with an opening reception Friday, April 25th at 5 p.m. The Master of Fine Arts Thesis Exhibition (Round 2) will be on view from May 9th through May 18th with a May 9th opening reception at 5 pm.

MFA Sculpture and Extended Media candidates, Sami Ben Larbi, Lily Cox-Richard, David Grainger, and Eli Kessler, plan to exhibit their thesis work off-campus this spring. Locations will be announced. Opening receptions for these students will follow the MFA Round 2 openings at the Anderson Gallery on May 9th.

Graphics MFA candidates will likewise be exhibiting in an alternate location. Thesis work by Can Birand, Christine Coffey, Ann Ford, Bizhan Khodabandeh, Will Pinholster, and Andrea Quam can be seen on the first floor of the new Main Street Building at 1509 West Main Street; opening May 4th with a reception at 7pm. The show will be on view until May 8th.

The public is invited to attend all receptions and exhibitions. Vcuarts Anderson Gallery is free and open to the public. Operating hours are Monday – Friday 10 am–5 pm and Saturday and Sunday 1– 5 pm. For more information, please call the Gallery at (804) 828-1522 or visit our website at: http:/www.vcu.edu/arts/gallery .