The new art exhibition in Walsh may not be Georgetown’s biggest art show, but for what it lacks in size, it more than makes up for in diversity.
Over two dozen works of the Studio Faculty Exhibition ‘06, all created by the studio art department faculty members, are presented in two gallery rooms located on either side of the Walsh foyer. The intimate setting allows the viewer to get personal with the pieces and the small number makes it impossible for any of them to escape the attention of the audience.
There is no common theme uniting the exhibits and each one stands on its own. This makes the show comparable to a box of assorted chocolates—just a taste of each of the different forms of art offered at Georgetown. The mixed media works, ranging from the traditional oil paintings and hand-carved guitars to digital prints, video-art and sculptures, reflect the various research interests of the professors in the visual arts department.
Every work in the exhibit leaves a different sensation, which takes the show’s audience on a tour of diversity peppered with emotion.
Evan Reed’s candle wax sculpture entitled “O-tanjoubi,” flanked by Peter Charles’ single steel “Column with a twist” on one side and Vickie Fruehauf’s pair of sombre copper type prints on the other, provides a visual feast for the admirers of contrast.
Fruehauf’s sepia-colored prints feature tension-filled deserted landscapes. This shifts focus to the main subject of the works—several roadside memorial crosses. The heavy imagery of “Chesapeake Beach” and “Rt. 50 MD,” combined with the muted backgrounds amplifies the already raw emotion.
“Part of being a professor is also being a full-time artist. The exhibition is giving a view of what we do as professional artists, and students can have an idea of where we are coming from,” Reed said.
This art show does just that. It may not shock or surprise, but it plays an effective informative role, at the same time satisfying an aesthetic thirst. The sheer variety of media and materials leaves the audience inspired, proving that art, at least at Georgetown, is not limited to one existing tradition, and that the University Art Department is always open to exploring new initiatives and talents.
The Studio Faculty Exhibition ‘06 is located at Gallery 101, on the main floor of the Walsh Building. The Exhibit runs until February 24, 2006 and is open to the public Monday through Saturday, from 12-5 pm.
