MFA Spring Thesis Exhibition
The Curfman Gallery is proud to host the spring 2009 Masters in Fine Arts Thesis Exhibition featuring the graduate students of Colorado State University in their final thesis show. The exhibition’s opening reception will be held Friday, May 8, 2009 from 4-6pm in the Curfman Gallery. Refreshments will be provided. This year’s MFA show features four graduate artists who have submitted their final thesis works to graduate with a Master in Fine Arts.
Exhibiting Artists include:
Sophia Dillo, a painter, primarily focuses on non-objective abstraction because it, “emphasize a space that exists before labeling, before thinking.” She enjoys the, “as-isness of things,” and tries to remove the ordinary out ordinary objects to reveal its beauty. For her final thesis piece, she is addressing the ideas of light and its ability to be “visible and invisible at the same time,” in her piece Light Works.
Meghan McGrath, a painter as well, creates work that is interactive and personal. Patterns of communication, relationships, and personalities are represented through family portraits. Rather than nostalgia, memory serves as a visual history. The portraits become metaphors for maps describing time, place and linear movement.
Amy Reckley works in drawing converge to suggest singular situations or moments that are between flux and stasis. Her works play upon the notion that psychological spaces are comprised of experience, perception and memory. As architectural interventions on the familiarity of spaces and perspective, drawings play out in sequences of destruction and reinvention. Preexisting perceptions of structures and spaces are broken down to create the illusion of something more fluid, vulnerable and impermanent.
Kenny McBroom, a painting major, finds ambition for his recent work by showing a conceptual parallel between the historical nature of the work itself with seemingly ridiculous or dramatic imagery. Significantly serious topics such as war, economics, history, death, and academia are investigated through the visual language of sci-fi, cartoons, comics, and zombies. He tries to create work that provides the signs and clues for a complicated mystery — a mystery with numerous components.
The 2009 Spring MFA Exhibition will be on display in the Curfman Gallery until September 10, 2009. The Curfman Gallery is located on the south end of the main level of the Lory Student Center, in the heart of Colorado State’s campus. This event is free and open to the public.
2009 Undergraduate Art Exhibition
The annual Undergraduate Exhibition is a celebration of the visual arts and the creative efforts at Colorado State University. With a long history at CSU's Curfman Gallery, this exhibition highlights the visual arts and the exceptional talent of artists across campus. Guest jurors Petra Sertic and Daniele Robson from the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, will visit the campus to select pieces for the show from student submissions. The wide range of media and creative exploration exhibited make this show unique and one of our most popular! Support your CSU undergrads and gain a deeper understanding of the arts, as their individual and cumulative efforts are on display in the Curfman Gallery.Thank you to our sponsors! This exhibit is co-sponsored by ArtFest, the Student Organization for the Visual Arts [SOVA], Associated Students of Colorado State University [ASCSU] and CSU’s Department of Art. This juried exhibit was open to all undergraduates regardless of major.
Congratulations to this year's Juror's Selections: Rolfe Bautista, Mariam Pakbaz, Sidney Clewe and Joe Cobb
The Art and Science Exhibition showcases the creative energies of students, faculty, and staff at Colorado State University and exemplifies the common ties between scientific inquiry and artistic practice. This included artists who use aspects of science for their artistic inspiration or utilize fundamental principles of science in the creation of their art. It also includes scientists who utilize or generate art in the creation of scientific models and imagery used to illustrate their concepts, theories, and discoveries.
The Art and Science Exhibition first organized in 2006 by students from the College of Natural Sciences and the Department of Art. The goal was to create an exhibition that would provide a means of showcasing the cross disciplinary nature of both scientific research and contemporary art practice.
The 4th Annual Art and Science Exhibition continues to serve as a celebration of the creative output found in the juxtaposition and interrelation between these distinct yet undeniably related disciplines. The juried exhibition, showcases both art inspired by science and images from scientific and mathematical fields that are inherently artistic.
This year's jurors included:
Dr. Patricia Coronel, Associate Professor of Art History ; Dr. Donald Mykles, Associate Dean of Natural Sciences ; Professor Gary Voss, Art Department Chair
This year's winners:
Juror's Award for Excellence: Danielle Sabey - " Topics in Math"
Best in Show: Danielle Sabey - "Permutations"
Top Honors: Anna Maddocks - "The Movement of Birds"
High Honors: Cyane Tornatzky - "The Home Scientist"
Clay Kuehn - "Spinal"
Honorable Mention: Wendy Franzen - " Oscillation"
Randall Boone - "Evolved Thinking"
Phil Risbeck - "Well Done"
Thank you to the Lilla B. Morgan Foundation Grant, The Art Department, The College of Natural Sciences, ASCSU, and the CSU bookstore for their generous and continued support of this exhibition.
Leighton McWilliams and Erin Antognoli -
This show aims to combine the work of two artists who exhibit unique talents while working with similar photographic processes, as these two photographers, working in holga film, transform the gallery experience into an intimate scale.
Antognoli's work layers images of her surroundings, armed only with a Holga camera, an incredibly simple camera that is prone to irregularity, she submerges herself in the un-discovered details of Washington DC. giving the viewer a sense of place as they traverse a city through overlapping details and intimate settings. Antognoli captures the soul of our capital city.
McWilliam's photo constructs border between sculpture and photography as he pairs seemingly disparate elements and imagery to provoke a dialogue between the art object and the viewer. McWilliams' direct approach to photography and his self-described "machine aesthetic" combine in an unconventionally beautiful way. Antognoli’s urban series of black and white photographs stem from her need for interaction with her environment.
MFA Thesis Exhibition Fall 2008
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Master of Fine Art Thesis Exhibition, featured CSU's graduating MFA students in their final thesis show.
Sara Rockinger : fibers
Cassidy Garhart Velesquez : painting
Kevin Kissell : fibers
Contemporary Printmakers: The Artists of Flatbed Press
The Curfman Gallery hosted printmakers from around the world through the files of Flatbed press. The work demonstrates the variety and versatility of printmaking medium through the use of a professional press. Artists included James Surls, Julie Speed and Terri Winters. This group of artists approached the print medium with a variety of subject and content, while displaying mastery and the diversity of the printmaking medium.
Linda Foster Leonhard – "Tiered"
For the past 35 years Linda Foster Leonhard, a Northern Colorado artist, has explored ways to engage in dialogue with the viewer. Her whimsical and provocative installations provide insights to explore psychological and emotional issues. Her past neoprene works echoed natural forms while narrating larger global issues. Her work uses cultural elements and rich surface textures to create a sense of space necessary for dialogue.
"Tiered" consists of waterfalls, leaves, trees and her newest direction, "Folded". "Folded" was created from 600 bags that form a seven foot x twenty-four foot wall of imaginative power. Thinking back to grade school, Leonhard took inspiration in her process from the folding of paper fans. Her latest piece greatly enhances that exercise in an obsessive way. Her whimsical and provocative installations provide insights to explore psychological and emotional issues. Her past neoprene works echoed natural forms while narrating larger global issues. Her work uses cultural elements and rich surface textures to create a sense of space necessary for dialogue. This obsessive piece speaks of emotion and energy as it surprises the viewer with a barrage of angles.
2008 Undergraduate Exhibition
The 2008 Undergraduate Exhibit is a celebration of the creative efforts at CSU. With a long history at CSU, this annual exhibition showcases the talent of artists across campus. Guest jurors visit the campus to select pieces for the show from artwork submitted for consideration. The wide range of media and involvement from students across campus make this show unique and one of our most popular. The exhibit seeks to provide the CSU community with a deeper understanding of the arts while celebrating CSU student's artistic and academic accomplishments.
3rd Annual Art and Science Exhibition
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The Art and Science Exhibition invites faculty, students, and staff to submit work that is either science-inspired or appreciated art. Deadline for submissions is March 5th. Works in any medium are welcome in this juried exhibition. Hundreds of CSU science faculty, students, and staff are involved in experimentation and the creation of new knowledge. Although these individuals rarely consider themselves to be artists, the products of their labors are often strikingly complex and beautiful.
Similarly, their colleagues in art and design departments do not think of themselves as scientists, yet they often utilize modern technology in their work or use science as a metaphor in their creations. The exhibition is organized and sponsored by the College of Natural Sciences, the Department of Art, the College of Liberal Arts and ASCSU.
Visual Verse: Collaborations in Poetry and Cloth
The Curfman Gallery was the last stop for this fantastic traveling exhibition of cloth and poetry. The exhibit has traveled to galleries across the country since it was initially organized by the Contemporary Quilt Art Association (CQA) in late 2003. The show represents a year-long collaboration between textile artists and poets resulting in a truly unique exhibition of 25 quilts and sculptural works with accompanying poetry. The exhibit was juried by Michael James and Hilda Raz. The exhibit featured a number of works by internationally known quilt artists and poets.
MY ART, MY LIFE: SO FAR Peter A. Jacobs - Retrospective
Peter Jacobs joined the CSU Art Faculty in 1976. He has been an artist-teacher for close to half a century. During his career he has had over 70 solo exhibitions of his art. His work has been exhibited in Bulgaria, Poland, Italy, India, Canada and China as well as across the U.S. This exhibition will present a sampling of the artist's work in sculpture, painting, printmaking and drawing. This fall Professor Jacobs will be recognized by the Colorado Art Education Association as the 2007 Colorado Art Educator of the Year in Higher Education. He will retire in May, 2008.
Additional: Peter Jacobs will host an informal gallery talk in the Curfman Gallery at 5-6pm during the opening reception.
15th Colorado International Invitational Poster Exhibition
The Curfman Gallery hosts the 15th biennial CIIPE exhibition in conjunction with the department of Art's Hatton Gallery and the local arts community. Satellite exhibitions are on display at the Lincoln Center
The exhibition highlights excellence in poster design from leading and emerging graphic designers from around the globe. Featuring work by 87 artists from 31 countries, the 15th CIIPE exhibits and interprets poster design, brings outstanding examples of visual communication to an American audience, and promotes international understanding and dialogue through the graphic arts. A full color catalogue of the exhibition will be available. Exhibition copies of posters will also be for sale.
The MFA Show
This collection of works by students in CSU's master of Fine Arts program spotlights the exploration of theme, materials and the creative process. The exhibition includes work by students at various stages of the program from first year creation to thesis preparation. Students consult with the exhibit's curator to select works that represent a part of their educational journey and offer a narrative accompaniment that provides insight into their process of exploration.
This biennial exhibition is co-sponsored by CSU’s Department of Art.
2007 Undergraduate Exhibition
With a long history at CSU, this annual exhibition showcases the outstanding creations of student artists and is held in conjunction with the university's Celebrate Undergraduate Research & Creativity events. Guest jurors visit campus to select pieces for the show from artwork submitted for consideration, and the wide range of media selected makes it the only exhibit of its kind on campus. The exhibit provides the audience with an understanding of the breadth and depth of work produced by CSU art majors and other student artists, while celebrating those students’ academic and creative accomplishments.This exhibit is co-sponsored by the Student Organization for the Visual arts [SOVA], Associated Students of Colorado State University [ASCSU] and CSU’s Department of Art.
Re-implacements - J. Michael Simpson
Re-implacements is a visual documentation of an on-going investigation of the sublime. Through the use of abstract re-constructions of mountain terrain Simpson aims to connect the human spirit with the forces inherent within natural places. Simpson writes in a statement about the show, "Hopefully my re-implacements can bring to mind if even for just a moment the environmental and cultural importance of the sublime place and the sublime experience."
Simpson's large scale abstractions of the natural landscape found in the mountain and river terrain seek to reconstruct the 'sublime experience' that comes through nature, while connecting the human spirit with the forces inherent in natural places. Until recently Simpson made it a point not to mention the location of these sites for environmental reasons. The named location also raised comparisons between a specific place and the painting when what he wanted was the viewer to realize the paintings in the gallery formed a new place. Since then Simpson has focused on a specific river, the Saluda, one branch at a time. The works are abstract constructions of marks and color that focus on the hydrologic rhythms of a small segment of a river. The paintings are painted as if to re-emplace the river in an artistic and spiritual context, while embodying the sense of the river as a metaphor for life.
Traces - Marius Lehene and Stefan Chinov
The dual billing of Marius Lehene and Stefan Chinov, internationally exhibiting Eastern European artists, marks a fusion of 2-D and 3-D art. In his recent practice Lehene employs aspects of personal identity to create works charged with a sense of physical history and contingency and with overt emphasis on tactile qualities. This concept of touch emerges in the work of Chinov as well. His 2004 bench-like installations, while attempting to embody relationships between a human action and its environment, engage the setting more than the presence of actual human subjects. Chinov serves as a professor of sculpture, digital imaging and art history at East Central University in Oklahoma and Lehene is an assistant professor of drawing at Colorado State University.
Woman's Work - Lindsay Obermeyer
Woman's Work references the enduring connection of textiles to the body offering rich metaphorical possibilities for exploring the bond between mother and child. Lindsay Obermeyer's use of fibers represents this bond as a knitted garment that can stretch, rip, fray, or unravel as the child grows and matures. Elongated sleeves and unlikely connections illustrate both the parental bond as well as bonds shared between those unrelated. Lindsay Obermeyer is an adjunct instructor at the National-Louis University and Northern Illinois University. She teaches children through the Beverly Arts Center and Evanston Art Center which are all located in Illinois.
Driving Force Exhibition
Colorado State University's Curfman Gallery will be hosting the touring exhibition Driving Force which showcases the works of young artists with disabilities, ages 16-25, who are living in the United States. The opening reception will be held Wednesday June 14th from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
For the third year, VSA arts and Volkswagen of America Inc. have partnered to produce this exhibition. This juried exhibition features the work of 15 finalists who are motivated by an intense desire and dedication to practice fine art. Art is their primary motivation - to use the arts as a way to understand the past, the unique contributions of all artists, the boundaries that define us, and the personal philosophies that influence their work. Self-directed by their inherent need to create, many of these artists employ the arts as personal exploration. Their work becomes a profound search for identity and a way to share their unique perspectives.