The Martha and Robert Fogelman Galleries of Contemporary Art at the University of Memphis will host an opening reception for “Proxemics,” a thesis exhibition for nine Bachelor of Fine Arts candidates in the U of M’s Department of Art April 13 from 5 to 7 p.m.
The exhibition, which runs through April 27, celebrates the completion and culmination of the students’ artistic works and exploration. “Proxemics” features works in a variety of media including painting, sculpture, photography and video.
Megan Chen, 21, a studio art major with a concentration in painting, said the name of the exhibition “just fit” with the work and featured artists.
“Proxemics is the study of personal space, and with it being nine of us, we were always conscious of our pieces interacting with one another’s since our work is so personal,” Chen said.
Chen said her installation focuses on the co-existence of two cultures and having a biracial background.
Chen said the cloaked figures in her paintings “act as self-portraits to document [her] exploration and navigation through [her] Asian and white heritages.”
Chen encouraged students to attend the exhibition in support of the local art community and their fellow Tigers.
Paige Ellen, 26, studio art major, said the theme of her art installation is memory, which she portrayed by including audio of different people recounting their memories.
“Listening to some of these memories was heartbreaking, exhausting [and] exciting,” Ellen said. “You get to think about what other people have to experience.”
Ellen said her installation includes a variety of media elements including painting, shadow boxes, video and photography, which show her love of “eclectic things.”
Ellen said her installation should evoke empathy and understanding from viewers and was inspired by a song from the film “The Shining.” Composer Kryzstof Penderecki created “Polymorphia,” a piece that consists of 48 string instruments, which Ellen said inspired her to use 48 voices in her audio piece from both people she knows and complete strangers.
“(Penderecki) actually said the human voice is the most beautiful instrument, and I thought that was so crazy coming from a composer who works with instruments,” Ellen said.
Along with participating in the exhibition, Ellen is attending a six-week artist residency and exhibition called BRICKSCAPE, a program that invites regional and national artists to create art installations in Charleston, West Virginia. Ellen was one of four students chosen nationally to participate in the program.
Kit Huddleston, 23, art major with a concentration in photography, said he has two videos in the exhibition that will run in a loop on an Xbox.
“The pieces [will speak] about the culture of gaming in a unique way that hopefully sheds some light on the subject and adds some humor in, too,” Huddleston said.
Huddleston said anyone who comes to see the exhibition should be able to find a piece they are interested in due to the variety of works.
Another student, Emilio Norman, studio art major, said his installation is about finding his own identity.
“My pieces in the show are about power as a person of color and how authority’s abuse of power affects me,” Norman said. “The whole body of work is very important to me.”
Norman said he wants viewers to feel the same emotions he feels about this subject matter.
Light refreshments will be served during the opening reception. All artists will be present, as well as faculty and staff from the Department of Art.
The exhibition is free to the public and located in rooms 230 and 240 of the Art and Communication Building.
"Proxemics", the BFA Thesis Exhibition, is currently being set up in the Fogleman Galleries here on campus and will be on display April 13-27. It includes work by students Alexandra Barnett, Megan Chen, Lizzie Dean, Natalie Eddings, Paige Ellens, Whitney Gresham, Kit Huddleston, Emilio Norman, and Denise Wakeman.
"Proxemics", the BFA Thesis Exhibition, is currently being set up in the Fogleman Galleries here on campus and will be on display April 13-27. It includes work by students Alexandra Barnett, Megan Chen, Lizzie Dean, Natalie Eddings, Paige Ellens, Whitney Gresham, Kit Huddleston, Emilio Norman, and Denise Wakeman.
"Proxemics", the BFA Thesis Exhibition, is currently being set up in the Fogleman Galleries here on campus and will be on display April 13-27. It includes work by students Alexandra Barnett, Megan Chen, Lizzie Dean, Natalie Eddings, Paige Ellens, Whitney Gresham, Kit Huddleston, Emilio Norman, and Denise Wakeman.
"Proxemics", the BFA Thesis Exhibition, is currently being set up in the Fogleman Galleries here on campus and will be on display April 13-27. It includes work by students Alexandra Barnett, Megan Chen, Lizzie Dean, Natalie Eddings, Paige Ellens, Whitney Gresham, Kit Huddleston, Emilio Norman, and Denise Wakeman.
"Proxemics", the BFA Thesis Exhibition, is currently being set up in the Fogleman Galleries here on campus and will be on display April 13-27. It includes work by students Alexandra Barnett, Megan Chen, Lizzie Dean, Natalie Eddings, Paige Ellens, Whitney Gresham, Kit Huddleston, Emilio Norman, and Denise Wakeman.
