Sculpture and Photography Shows to Open at WFU

Sculpture and photography exhibits will open Friday, Feb. 12, at the Wake Forest University Fine Arts Gallery.

“Making It Up” exhibits the work of four artists who use improvisation and everyday materials-including fabric, fruit, sponges, papier-m’chÈ, wood and paint-in the process of “making up” their work.

An opening reception will be held Friday, Feb. 19, from 5-7 p.m. in the gallery.

“The first impression we often have of spontaneous passages in jazz or visual art is that they are formless, haphazard,” said David Finn, Wake Forest assistant professor of art and co-curator of the exhibit. “It is only when one becomes more familiar with the work that form and discipline are apparent.”

“Utilizing the accidental, the informal, the offhand is a talent shared by these four artists,” said Finn. “From Drew Schiflett’s sublime orchestration of everyday stuff to Susanna Starr’s experiments with huge pools of paint on giant sponges; from Ava Gerber’s fragile evocations of self, to Jeffrey Gurecka’s meditations on decay, the artists in ‘Making It Up’ are all masters of the illusion of spontaneity.”

Gerber, whose fabric and wire sculpture “Notions” is included in the show, will present a slide lecture at 3 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 18, in Scales Fine Arts Center, Room 9.

“Assumed Identity,” curated by Wake Forest seniors Christine Calareso and Curtis Thompson, is an exhibition of contemporary photography representing themes relevant to the university’s Year of Globalization and Diversity. Through provocative, controversial, humorous and poignant photographs, the artists represented challenge conventional notions of gender, racial and sexual identity and embrace characteristics that are part of a greater identity-the human condition.

Displayed in the upstairs gallery, the exhibition includes photographs by Barbara Kruger, Bill Jacobson, Amy Jacobson, Amy Jenkins, Sally Mann, Andres Serrano, Cindy Sherman and Carrie Mae Weems.

“Assumed Identity” is sponsored by Wake Forest’s Division of Student Life, the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the Women’s Studies program and the Student Union.

The exhibition is open through March 28. Admission to the opening reception, art lecture and gallery are free. Wake Forest University Fine Arts Gallery is open weekdays, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. weekends. For information, call 336-758-5585.

Categories: Arts & Culture, Events