News and Events

 

 

 

Welcome to our News and Events page! There are always exciting things going on with our students, faculty, and alumni. Check this page regularly to see what our art community is up to.

You can also follow us on Facebook!


2021-2022


 

 

 

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FALL 2021

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


2020-2021




 

Untitled: Into the Mind of Margaret Sutton is on view in Ridderhof Martin Gallery from April 8th until August 1st. Please go to umwgalleries.org to schedule your visit!

 

 

 

 



 

The Annual Student Art Exhibition is on view in duPont Gallery through April 18th. Juror Jim Toia will lecture and announce awards at 5pm on April 8th. Please go to umwgalleries.org to schedule your visit!

 


 

 



 


This exhibition will be exclusively on display online. 
Please go to www.umwgalleries.org to view it!

 

 


 

Both Exhibitions below will be open to the public by appointment in the galleries until November 20th

 

 


2019-2020


 

Please check out all of our selected student works at www.umwgalleries.org/asae2020/


 


Art History Major Travels to Paris for Research

 

Art History Major Sarai David ’20 outside the Louvre Art Museum in Paris, France.

Art History Major, Sarai David, Class of 2020, participated in UMW’s annual Research and Creativity Day. From Sarai: “This semester I worked on an Individual Study on Leonardo da Vinci’s two versions of Virgin of the Rocks. I wanted to explore potential reasons for why the styles between the two paintings are so different. As part of my research, I traveled to Paris, France with the help of a UMW Undergraduate Research Grant. While I was there I was able to visit the Leonardo da Vinci exhibition at the Louvre to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the artist’s death. Being able to surround myself with dozens of works by Leonardo helped me understand how the second version of the painting fit into Leonardo’s stylistic development. Being able to see the painting in person left a lasting impression on me and it is something I will always cherish.”
To listen to Sarai’s presentation on her research, please visit: http://umwrcd.net/tag/sarai-david/

 


 

Professor McMillan Receives VMFA Fellowship Award

 

Jon McMillan with Stratos, February 2020

Jon McMillan, Associate Professor of Studio Art and Chair of the Department of Art and Art History, has a solo show of ceramic sculpture titled Cloudseeds at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, VA. The exhibition, part of McMillan’s VMFA Fellowship award, is on view in the museum’s Pauley Center Galleries from now until August 16, 2020. For more information, visit: https://www.vmfa.museum/exhibitions/exhibitions/fellowship-exhibitions/

Images and videos from the show can be viewed online at: www.jonmcmillan.com/cloudseeds

Nimbus, hand-built earthenware, multiple glaze firings, 28x24x8” 2020

Statement for Cloudseeds:

Cloudseeds is a new body of work that explores the relationship between the natural and built environments through the integration of forms and surfaces abstracted from multiple sources. Bits of visual and contextual information from plant life, the human body, geographic phenomena and mechanical artifacts are brought together to create works that are suggestive yet ambiguous.

For each piece, earthenware clay is formed through wheel throwing and hand building processes, and finished with multiple glaze firings to build engaging surfaces. The objects begin with only a vague idea in mind, developing as they are constructed through an intuitive process that requires a continual back and forth between thought and action.

While humans and the natural world are inherently connected, rapidly developing cultural shifts, technologies and industrial growth continue to divide our species from the rest of the planet. These pieces seek to explore the grey area that characterizes this relationship through the combination of disparate parts. The resulting objects are rich with connotations, bringing viewers own experiences and ideas to bear in the ensuing dialogue. If the work is successful, it creates more questions than answers.

 

 


 

Professor Robinson: “Prove You’re Not A Robot”

 

Frame from one of the videos featured in “Prove You’re Not a Robot” installation

This March, Assistant Professor of Digital Art, Jason Robinson, participated in a two-person collaborative exhibition titled Prove You’re Not a Robot at SUNY Polytechnic Institute in Utica, NY. The interactive installation featured nine new videos by Professor Robinson that were created by remixing raw data visualizations programmed by SUNY Poly Professor and data artist, Nick LeJeune.

 


 

 

Professor Garmon Held Solo Exhibition in Brooklyn

 

The Victorious Underdog, Carole Garmon, 2019 mixed media

This winter, Professor of Sculpture, Carole Garmon, held a solo exhibition at Wayfarers Gallery in Brooklyn New York. The show was open from December 6th- January 5th.

From Professor Garmon: “The Victorious Underdog (and other favorites) came about in a dreamy sort of way where portals of past and flashes of future collide within the soundness of sleep; those sought-after sentiments when nonsense makes sense. In this space, this time, cartoons, critters, cartography, and cartouche converse in comical ways that meld both the personal and the universal. Fictional relationships that have influenced my life such as Scout and Jem in To Kill A Mockingbird, Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts in a ballad by Bob Dylan, Flipper, Olive Oyl, and Heckle and Jeckle are major “players” as I become an interlocutor of my past.

You can see more images of work from this show on our Facebook page.

 


 

 

 

 


 

 

On Thursday, January 31 Dr. Tracy Chapman (Virginia Commonwealth University) gave a talk entitled “Digitally Mapping Medieval Women and the Circulation of Material Culture: Crossing Boundaries and Connecting Spaces”. In addition, she talked with students in her ARTH 326 Romanesque and Gothic Art course about her research and especially archival research in France.

 

 


 


 

 

 

 


 


Professor DeLancey Gives Talk at Belmont

Photo by Damiano Baschiera on Unsplash

On Sunday, August 25, the Gari Melchers Home and Studio hosted A Glorious and Beautiful Show: The Visual Culture of Renaissance Venice, a richly-illustrated talk on the history of art in Renaissance Venice, Italy. The talk was given by UMW Professor of Art History, Julia A. DeLancey, in the Pavilion at Belmont. It covered not only paintings by artists such as Giovanni Bellini and Titian, for which Venice is so well known, but also the hand-blown glass and rich textiles for which the city was also renowned. Attention was also given to the Venetian color seller trade in pigments and dyes which made possible so much of Venetian visual culture. Dr. DeLancey also touched upon the repeated flooding in the lagoon city which threatens Venice’s precious cultural heritage. The event was free and open to the public.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


2018-2019


 

 


 

 

 


 

Professor Musina Solo Exhibition in Chapel Hill

Paradise
March 29th-June 1st
Oneoneone
601 W. Rosemary St.
Suite 111
Chapel Hill, NC 27516

Chris Musina’s solo exhibition, Paradise, explores the fine line of self-awareness that exists between humanity and other species in the animal kingdom. Musina’s new representational oil paintings are a slight departure from his previous work with the human element looming larger. These tropically-set paintings, while straightforward at first glance, convey an undercurrent of ill-ease suggesting the deep ambivalence present in the conundrum of human consciousness. These paradises take on the blown-out flip flop not merely as an existential crises for the self but for humanity as a whole. Musina imbues these dark ruminations with humor as a means to not only cope with the odd reality of human existence, but also to address the absurdity of ever fully comprehending the human-animal relationship.  The vacation is over. Welcome to Paradise.

 


 

Professor McMillan Awarded VMFA Fellowship

 

Ceramic sculpture by Jon McMillan

Associate Professor Jon McMillan was recently awarded one of twelve Professional Visual Art Fellowships from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts for 2019-20.  The statewide award, which includes exhibition opportunities and funding for artistic research and creation, is highly competitive, with 753 applicants for 28 fellowships in three categories.  Recipients are selected through a blind jury process, with decisions based solely on the artwork submitted. The VMFA Visual Arts Fellowship Program celebrates its 80thanniversary next year.

 

 

 

 

 

For images of this year’s Fellows, visit:  https://youtu.be/MySV7IOj4uM

More information on the program and this year’s awards can be found here: https://www.vmfa.museum/pressroom/news/vmfa-2019-20-fellowship-program-supports-28-student-professional-artists/

 


 

Priya Suresh Kambli Exhibition

 

Priya Kambli: Dadi Aaji And Dada Aajooba, 2012 Archival Pigment Print 22×17 in

Priya Suresh Kambli
Ridderhof Martin Gallery
January 24 – March 1 2019
Opening Reception: January 24, 5-7pm
Artist talk in the gallery: January 25, noon

An exhibition featuring new work by Priya Suresh Kambli.

 

 

Origin, Celebrating UMW Studio Art Alumni: Travis Head Exhibition

 

Reading List _ Quilt Squares
2018
ballpoint pen on paper
5 x 5″each​

 

Origin, Celebrating UMW Studio Art Alumni: Travis Head
duPont Gallery
January 24 – March 1 2019
Opening Reception: January 24, 5-7pm

An exhibition featuring the work of UMW alumnus, Travis Head.

 


 

Professor Kim Gives Talk at Embassy of Japan in D.C.

 

Through a close investigation of artist Migishi Kōtarō (1903-34)’s atelier in Tokyo (1934), Dr. Suzie Kim discussed modern architectural practices of Japanese architect and former Bauhausler Yamawaki Iwao (1898 – 1987), who sought to advance Japanese housing style based on his study at the Dessau Bauhaus between 1930 and 1932, and searched for a synthesis between geometric forms, straightforward structures, reinforced concrete, and the traditional Japanese construction methods.

 


 

Professor McMillan Teaches Workshop in New York

 

“Confluence” ceramic work by Professor Jon McMillan

Associate professor and department chair, Jon McMillan, traveled to Westchester, New York from January 18-21 to teach a hands-on ceramics workshop at the Clay Art Center.

He will also give a public lecture on his artwork and career path.

The Clay Art Center is one of the oldest art centers dedicated to ceramics in the northeastern US.

Clay Art Center in Westchester, NY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

Studio Art Alum Featured in Ceramics Monthly Magazine

 

 

Pottery made by Alum Christina Bendo

Christina Bendo (’13) was interviewed for the December 2018 issue of Ceramics Monthly Magazine about a residency she was awarded during the summer of 2018.  She also discusses her use of locally harvested clays to make her artwork.

As the the “Salad Days Artist” at the Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts in Newcastle, Maine, Christina spent two months making over 500 plates for the center’s annual fundraiser.  Guests are invited for a summer feast, and they keep the plate they choose at the event. You can read about the event and see photos from it here.

Christina is currently making pottery and decorative ceramic art in Asheville, NC.

http://www.christinabendo.com

 


Crowns Exhibition

 

Image shows a bear mouth open with a head coming out of it

Image: Janis Mars Wunderlich, Die Mutter/The Mother 2017

 

The Crowns exhibition was on view from October 25-December 2 in duPont Gallery.
Crowns: an exhibition of ceramic works curated by Jessica Gardner
While many artists have made works about relationships and their lives in general, this exhibition sought to explore women’s specific experience in motherhood. Inviting women, whose established body of work lends itself to evolving and exploring the relationships formed in motherhood: relationships to self, to children, to spouses, to other mothers and so forth. Each of these artists publicly discusses her role as a mother and the impact motherhood has on her studio practice, whether it be direct collaborations with her child/children or shifts in the body of work created. Additionally, each artist represented a different stage in the experience of motherhood.

 

 

 

 

Ready-Made Dream: Sue Johnson Exhibition

Image shows vinyl art of a room with wallpaper, a chair, and carpet

Sue Johnson, Room with a View of Infinity, Extended from “Ready-Made Dream” series, 2018. Print on vinyl, 115” x 240”. Courtesy of the artist

The Ready-Made Dream exhibition by Sue Johnson was on view from October 25-December 2 in Ridderhof Martin Gallery.
This exhibition featured floor-to-ceiling vinyl panels and decals that the artist designed—transforming the gallery into the interior of an ideal, modern home. As the exhibition title suggests, Johnson envisions a world in which the home is nostalgic and familiar, yet, also reduced to an empty space existing simply to house various things.

Gallery hours: Tues-Fri 10am- 4pm, Sat/Sun 1-4pm
Additional information at www.umwgalleries.org

 

 


 

 

UMW Studio Art Faculty Exhibition

 

Image: Ashe Laughlin, “Booby Trap”, Oil on Canvas on Board.

The UMW Studio Art Faculty Exhibition ran from September 6 – October 14, 2018 in University of Mary Washington’s duPont Gallery

The exhibition featured the UMW Studio Art Faculty:

Debra Balestreri
Carole Garmon
Larry Hinkle
Rosemary Jesionowski
Ashe Laughlin
Jon McMillan
Chris Musina
Jason Robinson
Joliza Terry
Jake Urbanski
Sarah Spencer White
All events are free and open to the public
Gallery hours: Tues-Fri 10am- 4pm, Sat/Sun 1-4pm
Additional information at www.umwgalleries.org

 

 

Museums as Viewing Machines: Work by Jeffrey Abt

 

Image: Jeffrey Abt, Wandering Gallery project (translation and representation), open, multiple media, 2006

The Museums as Viewing Machines exhibition ran September 6 – October 14, 2018 in University of Mary Washington’s Ridderhof Martin Gallery

This exhibition featured Abt’s Wandering Gallery project and Museum series. The Wandering Gallery project explores the behind-the-scenes, never-ending cycle of unpacking and packing, installation and de-installation, documentation, and interpretation associated with changing exhibitions.

Abt’s Museum series focuses on the visual parallels between galleries and sacred spaces, particularly religious sanctuaries. Abt is intrigued by environments created to foster contemplation, whether for the purposes of studying artworks or for spiritual introspection.

All events are free and open to the public
Gallery hours: Tues-Fri 10am- 4pm, Sat/Sun 1-4pm
Additional information at www.umwgalleries.org

 

 

 

 


2017-2018


 

UMW Art Community Prepares Sculpture for Celestial Event

 

Photo shows multi-color lantern shaped like a sting-ray at the top and a serpent from the mid-section to the end

UMW students, faculty, and community members helped construct massive lantern, Thuban, in Seacobeck Hall. Photo credit: Keil Troisi

It’s a little known fact that the North Star that was overhead when the pyramids were built is not the same star as our North Star now (Polaris). And in about a thousand years, a completely different star will be our North Star. Because of a slight wobble in the Earth’s rotation, the pole star position is not fixed. Our “guiding light” changes. It will take 26,000 years for the wobble in Earth’s rotation to complete one cycle and return our current North Star, Polaris, to its pole position. During this cycle, research indicates there will most likely be 11 stars in the right location and of the right magnitude to serve as Earth’s North Star. We’re curious how a transition on the celestial scale would be marked and celebrated here on Earth. JUMP!STAR is that celebration. It’s an initiative to work with communities to invent the traditions – a thousand years in advance – to be passed down to commemorate the eventual changing of the North Star. Plans for this intergalactic event are underway and Kansas has been chosen to be the home for the premiere of Jump!Star in the summer of 2019.  The rural nature of the Flint Hills region nurtures a community of trust. The urban nature of Wichita creates cultural vibrancy. The combined strengths of these forces, in conjunction with satellites in New York, Los Angeles and Berlin, constructs a model of cooperation and collaboration that is the generative foundation of this project (www.jumpstar.love/about).

Twelve large-scale, illuminated paper sculptures comprise a key part of this celestial celebration. Artist George Ferrandi designed these “social sculptures” and concept for the event. Ferrandi utilizes Japanese “Nebuta” techniques to celebrate each of the eventual pole stars. Students, faculty, and community members of UMW helped construct Thuban, a massive sting-ray meets serpent type of creature. Construction and painting of Thuban began in 2016 and was completed during Ferrandi’s visit during the Spring semester 2018. Ferrandi and choreographers are returning to UMW this year to teach students and faculty participating in the festival how to move Thuban during the performance. You can keep up-to-date on all Jump!Star happenings by following on Instagram.

 


 

Lost Stories, Found Images Exhibition

 

Photo of Judith Trijtel, 1943 by Annemie Wolff © Monica Kaltenschnee, The Netherlands

Photo of Judith Trijtel, 1943 by Annemie Wolff © Monica Kaltenschnee, The Netherlands

Lost Stories, Found Images: Portraits of Jews in Wartime Amsterdam by Annemie Wolf was on display in Ridderhof Martin Gallery from April 5th 2018 until June 28th 2018.

This powerful exhibition presents rarely captured humanity and emotion in its striking depiction of life in Nazi occupied Amsterdam. Annemie Wolff was born in Germany but moved to Amsterdam in 1933 because of the anti-Semitic policies of the new Nazi regime; some of her greatest work comes from the era of the Second World War and the German occupation of Western Europe. This exhibition features never before seen portraits of both Jews and gentiles who lived in South Amsterdam between January and October of 1943–three years into the five-year long German occupation of the Netherlands.

Amazingly, these photographs were not discovered until 2008– some fourteen years after Wolff’s death. A Dutch historian of photography, Simon Kool, discovered 100 rolls of film–which contained the portraits of 434 individuals during the occupation–in the attic of Wolff’s heir. Once the portraits were discovered a search began to locate the people who were pictured or any of their remaining family. To date over half of the people photographed have been identified through research and interviews.

This compelling exhibition includes 26 photographs, as well as didactic materials, which allow one to examine Wolff’s work through not only the lens of the history of photography, but also the lenses of history, religion, and sociology, as well as through one’s own cultural or personal experiences.​


 

Annual Student Art Exhibition Awards

 

Image shows student standing with her artwork

Melchers Gray Purchase Award recipient, Sophie Brinkley, with her piece, When We’re Both Listening, 2017. cyanotype on fabric

The Annual Student Art Exhibition features a guest-curated exhibition of UMW studio art students’ work. Each year student artwork is purchased from the exhibition to become part of the UMW Galleries permanent art collection through the Melchers Gray Purchase Award. This year’s opening was held on March 21st in duPont Gallery. The following awards were given:

Melchers Gray Purchase Award

When We’re Both Listening, Sophie Brinkley

Emil R. Schnellock Award for Excellence in Painting

Glitch, Rachel Hicks

Anne Elizabeth Collins Memorial Art Award

Bed Womb, Sarah Law

4 Awards of Excellence

Bleach, Jacqueline Crouch
Milk Trio, Megan M. Falzarano
Center, Tara Meeks
ANTICIPATIONS, Chad Mundie​​

 


 

Adjunct Faculty Featured in Virginia Forests Magazine

 

EPSON MFP image


 

Origin, Celebrating UMW Studio Art Alumni Exhibition

 

Abernathy Bland, The far side of the sea, even there., 2017. Oil on Canvas, 24 x 24”

Abernathy Bland, The far side of the sea, even there., 2017. Oil on Canvas, 24 x 24”

The Origin, Celebrating UMW Studio Art Alumni Exhibition was on view in duPont Gallery from January 25th -March 1st.

About Abernathy Bland:

Abernathy Bland is an artist, educator, designer, and writer. She is a teacher and the Art Director for SPARC Theater’s Live Art, a collaborative theater arts program for students with and without disabilities. She works as an artist mentor with Milk River Arts, a studio providing career-focused support for adult artists with disabilities.

Some of her design projects include Old Kent Road Theater and Piper McKenzie Productions in NY and Richmond Ballet in VA.  She presented work in Puppet BloK! at Dixon Place with OKRT’s Make it Work! Keep Going. Her work can also be seen in the dining room design of Richmond restaurant Foo Dog. Her piece, go for it. all, is part of the Richmond mural scene. She is also an American Sign Language Interpreter.

Painting, illustration, and sculpture are all important avenues for her message. See more from her creature studio and follow her blog about her creative journey and the importance of community, authenticity, and kindness at Riding Bareback Beside a Train, abernathyart.blogspot.com.

 

Anna Prezioso, Past Your Limit, 2016. Mixed Media, 10×10”

Anna Prezioso, Past Your Limit, 2016. Mixed Media, 10×10”

About Anna Prezioso:

As a trauma survivor, I am interested in making work that questions and readdresses the
development of identity after a traumatic event. Working primarily in sculpture, sound, image
and installation, I investigate how the mind adapts from a traumatic experience by changing the
way memory perceives and comprehends an event. Through the use of functionality, mnemonic
translations, connectors and transformations, my work simultaneously references the
development of my identity as a survivor and the new relationship created between survivor and
society. This constellation of mediums constructs an ongoing map that leads through my
obsessive and continual exploration of how trauma attempts to define survivors.

Anna Presioso is best known for her multimedia discipline, creating works that evoke a sensual
and encompassing atmosphere that dictates an experience. Currently living and working in the
District of Columbia, her practice continues to capture remnants of memory with fervor. Her
large scale installations and mixed media work displays an overwhelming repetition of harvested
mediums. This expression of vocabulary rapidly develops into the form of collage and
embroidery to sounds and fragmented imagery. These all become stitched together to give the
viewer a cohesive narrative from a collection of a decomposed life. Prezioso’s artwork has been
exhibited in group and individual shows, such as Vilnius Academy of Arts; Forum Art Space;
and Katzen Museum; as well as GlogaurAIR studios in Berlin, where she also attended as a
residencident. She’s been selected for several publications, including a feature for the “Artist of
the Week” by ArtSee DC .


 

 

Mid Atlantic New Painting 2018 Exhibition

 

Image shows two women standing next to a table covered in different materials

Miles Hall, Deconstructing the Apocalypse in her Own Image, 2017. oil on panel, 86 x 62

The Mid Atlantic New Painting Exhibition was on view in Ridderhof Martin Gallery from January 25th – March 18th, 2018.

The UMW Galleries were proud to host the eleventh Mid-Atlantic New Painting biennial exhibition! The competition was open to artists 18 years of age and older, living in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. Entries must have been completed within two years of the application deadline. Paintings in any painting medium were eligible.

 

The MANP 2018 juror is Kimberli GantMcKinnon Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, VA

Participating Artists:
David Barr, Katie Barrie, Michael Benevenia, Nick Candela, Sabine Carlson, Pamela Crockett, Constance Culpepper, Daniel Dias, Colleen Garibaldi, Steve Griffin, Nicole Gunning, Miles Hall, Elizabeth Heller, Sue Johnson, Allan Jones, Chee Kung, J. Li, Cameron Limbrick, Diane Lorio, Edmond Praybe, William Ruller, Jane Sangerman, Bill Santelli, Linda Schmidt, Roberta Tucci, Naijun Zhang

 


 

Synthesis Exhibition

 

detail-mcmillan
A solo exhibition of ceramic sculpture by Associate Professor Jon McMillan was on view at the Cleo Miller Driver Gallery at Bridgewater College from January 8th- January 31st.  This exhibition featured 12 new sculptures from the artist, and began with a reception and gallery lecture on January 8th.

 

 

 

 

 


 

Jon McMillan Serves as Guest Critic
for MFA Student Reviews

 

Image shows building with glass windows and 4 columns

Duke Hall is the home of the Art Department at James Madison University.

On December 8, Associate Professor Jon McMillan was invited by the faculty at James Madison University to serve as the outside reviewer and guest critic for their MFA student reviews.  Professor McMillan spent two days in Harrisonburg meeting with faculty and students, touring the school’s newly renovated art building, and participating in a day-long critique of MFA candidates’ artwork.  McMillan is an alumnus of JMU, having earned his BFA in Studio Art and a minor in Art History there in 1998.

 


 

Community Club Visits Gallery

 

a group of people stand in front of a grey wall with framed photos hung behind them

Rosemary Jesionowski with the Fredericksburg Photography Club in Ridderhof Martin Gallery.

On November 28th Gallery Specialist and Studio Art Professor Rosemary Jesionowski gave a guided tour of the Lightworks exhibit in Ridderhof Martin Gallery to the Fredericksburg Photography Club. From their site: “The club is open to anyone interested in photography. Membership includes photographers at all skill levels from beginners to advanced using digital and/or film. Club members work cooperatively to raise the level of excellence for all and to promote an awareness of photography in the community. The club has a growing roster of 70 active members.”

 


 

All But Ordinary Exhibition

 

Image shows tree stumps made from pencils on top and a colorful collage of strips of paper and resin on the buttom

Travis Childers, Stumps, 2016, pencils, glue. Large stump: 19 x 22 x 24” Small stump: 19 x 16 x 13”
Karen Fitzgerald, We Never Even Know We Have the Key, 2017, mail order catalogs – on wood, finished with resin, 36 x 36”

All But Ordinary was on display in the duPont Gallery from October 26th through December 3rd. The exhibition featured work by two artists, Travis Childers and Karen Fitzgerald. Both artists’ works utilized everyday materials. About his piece, Stumps, Childers explained, “With this piece I took number two pencils and made them into tree stumps, referencing the action that required a tree to eventually become a pencil. The tree as a pencil is further decimated by the user sharpening it to use. There are simple gestures we do to use nature to our own will and make it a disposable commodity.” In regards to her use of re-purposed materials Fitzgerald said, “I create art out of common, everyday things. From discarded clothing to junk mail, I’m motivated by the context of a material– its original purpose and place in our lives as well as the  many hands and ideas involved in its creation. I ‘make paint’ by breaking these materials  down, seeking out color and shape, and putting them back together in ways that celebrate what we value and why it matters.”

 

 

 

 


 

Light Works Exhibition

 

Image is black and white and shows a woman sitting with her hand to her face with a child in her arms and a child leaning on her shoulder

Dorothea Lange, Migrant Mother, Nipomo, California, 1936, gelatin silver print.
Collection of the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts; Gift of the Photo Guild

 

Light Works: A Century of Photography was on display in the Ridderhof Martin Gallery from October 26th through December 3rd. “From Eadweard Muybridge’s 19th-century photographic studies of animal locomotion to Richard Misrach’s contemporary chromogenic prints, this exhibition spans the history of photography. Works by Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Curtis, Ansel Adams, Dorothea Lange, Diane Arbus, Richard Avedon and many other celebrated photographers are included.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

Department Hosted Annual Pottery Jam Event

 

image shows three artists throwing pottery on pottery wheels while students sit and observe

Ceramics artists Samantha Henneke, Michael Kline, and Bruce Gholson gave demonstrations at Pottery Jam 2017.

 

The Department of Art and Art History recently hosted visiting artists Samantha Henneke, Bruce Gholson, and Michael Kline for Pottery Jam 2017!  The three artists, collectively known as “Cousins in Clay” spent a full day in UMW’s ceramics studio demonstrating their techniques and discussing fine craft, pottery theory, small business ownership, and much more.

 

 

 

 

image shows three artists throwing pottery on wheels

Over 50 UMW students, faculty, and community members attended the event.

 

Over 50 UMW students and faculty, as well as guests from both the local community and regional universities took part in the event, which kicked off the evening before the demos with a slide night at Libertytown Arts Workshop.

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

Alumna Published in Renaissance Quarterly

 

Photo shows woman standing in front of red wall with circular, gold-framed piece of art hanging behind her

Alumna Emily Lovins Fenichel standing in front of Michelangelo, Doni Tondo, 1504-06 (Florence, Uffizi)

 

Emily Lovins Fenichel ’06 has published “Michelangelo’s Pietà as Tomb Monument: Patronage, Liturgy, and Mourning.” The article appears in the current issue of the Renaissance Quarterly, vol. 70 (2017): 862-96. This is an outstanding accomplishment…and a very interesting article. Who said there’s nothing new to learn about Michelangelo?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Image show's famous sculpture by Michelangelo of Jesus laying in Mary's lap.

Michelangelo, Pietà, 1498-99 (Vatican, St. Peter’s Basilica)

 

 

About her work, Emily writes: In focusing on Michelangelo’s signature, recent scholarship on his Pietà has separated his sculpture fro its spiritual intent. In contrast, this article will consider how the sculpture group spoke to its original religious context, principally as the funerary monument of Michelangelo’spowerful French patron, Cardinal Lagraulas. The Rome Pietà was an important part of the funeral rites for the cardinal that mirrors and amplifies the liturgy surrounding death, particularly the hour of vespers. Reconstructing the sculpture’s relationship to its liturgical and funerary ensemble will highlight Michelangelo’s iconographic and artistic ingenuity in the service of religion and his patron.”

 

 

 


 

Fox 5 News College Tour

 

Image shows students sketching while news anchors interview UMW professor

http://www.fox5dc.com/good-day/college-tour/the-university-of-mary-washington-fox-5-college-tour

On October 20, 2017 Fox 5 News came to UMW for their “College Campus Tour” segment. They interviewed Studio Art Professor, Rosemary Jesionowski, about the different opportunities the Arts programs on campus have to offer. Students were featured sketching a horse provided by the Equestrian Team to showcase the collaborative nature of UMW’s campus programs. Check out the “Campus Sketching” segment on Fox 5’s site!

 


 

Faculty Exhibition

 

Image shows 9 circles with different pieces of art in each

UMWGalleries.org

All of our Studio Art faculty displayed their work in duPont Gallery from September 7th through October 13th. The show featured art from Deb Balestreri, Carole Garmon, Larry Hinkle, Rosemary Jesionowski, Ashe Laughlin, Jon McMillan, Chris Musina, Jason Robinson, and Sarah Spencer White.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 Pulped Under Pressure Exhibition

 

Image shows two green circles overlapping with a black turtle in the right one

Marilyn Propp, Ghost Divers, relief print on handmade cotton paper with pulp painting, 2014

Pulped Under Pressure was on display in Ridderhof Martin Gallery from September 7th through October 13th.
“With traditional hand papermaking at its core, Pulped Under Pressure underscores important contemporary issues steeped in history and craft.  Enticed through touch, these works encourage a contemplative slowing down even as they urge acknowledgement of some of the most pressing issues (environmental crisis to global marginalization) facing civilization today. Each of the artists, Jillian Bruschera, Julia Goodman, Reni Gower, Trisha Martin, Melissa Potter, Marilyn Propp, and Maggie Puckett, starts simply with a foundation of pulp made from natural fibers.  Their multifaceted results incorporate a rich range of printmaking, letterpress, papercutting, and installation.” -Reni Gower and Melissa Potter

 


 

CURRENT Art Fair

 

Painting shows Romulus and Remus and the wolf with a piece of pizza over its face

Painting by Chris Musina

Assistant Professor, Chris Musina, had work on display in CURRENT Art Fair with Ada Gallery in Richmond September 28th-October 1st. In the fall of 2015, several local gallery owners and directors, from 1708 Gallery, ADA gallery, Candela Books + Gallery, Glave Kocen Gallery, Page Bond Gallery, Quirk Gallery, and Reynolds Gallery, joined together to establish Richmond’s first contemporary art fair. Coined CURRENT (a nod to the nearby James River, the idea of the new, and the notion of an electric spark), the fair is held yearly in the fall. CURRENT emphasizes accessible opportunities to collect art and features works from local, national and internationally recognized artists. CURRENT presents art for collectors of all levels, from new to seasoned, and features special access to many of the areas gallerists and curators.

 

 

 

 


2016-2017


 

Dr. Och Travels to Rome

 

Image shows the Madonna with red hair and a red and blue robe

Anonymous, Madonna of Charity, 1510s, detail of Vittoria Colonna (Ischia)

Dr. Marjorie Och spent the summer of 2017 in Rome. She was a Visiting Faculty Fellow at the Rome campus of Richmond, The American International University in London; her work was also supported by a grant from UMW’s Wendy Shadwell ’63 Program Endowment. Dr. Och continued her research on Vittoria Colonna, the Roman poet and friend of Michelangelo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

Students Create Mural for Cycle Studio

 

Image shows student painting a wall with drawings of buildings around Fredericksburg

Photo Credit: Hilary Kanter

Over the summer Assistant Professor, Chris Musina, and his ARTS 105 students collaborated with Campus Recreation to create a mural for the Cycle Studio. Students spent a week drawing and painting buildings, symbols, and quotes that represent UMW and the surrounding Fredericksburg community. Stop by the Cycle Studio in the Fitness Center to see the colorful display!

 

 

 

 

 


 

Faculty Attend Summer Institute

 

Image shows group of people standing in front of a tree in matching white t-shirts

Photo Credit: Emma Anderson, COPLAC

This past June, the University of Mary Washington was very well represented at the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges (COPLAC) Summer Institute for faculty.  The Institute, which this summer targeted faculty at departments of art, art history, and graphic design, was proposed by Carole Garmon and Julia DeLancey (then at Truman State University) and developed by those two faculty together with staff at the COPLAC national office.  The Institute brought together close to forty faculty from institutions around the country and met on the campus of the University of North Carolina-Asheville, a COPLAC member.  In addition to Profs. Garmon and DeLancey, the group also included UMW Art & Art History faculty Rosemary Jesionowski, Chris Musina, and Jason Robinson.  The Institute gave participants a chance to discuss issues relevant to their work in arts and humanities education, develop strong working relationships across COPLAC campuses, and to determine goals and best practices in their area which were shared with the COPLAC Board at their July meeting.  To read the perspective of an Institute participant, please click here.