Thinking Through Making: 2017 Faculty Biennial

Every two years, the Western Gallery shows the work of the faculty of the Department of Art. This is an opportunity to see what these highly respected mentors of upcoming artists have been pursuing in their own studios over the previous couple of years.

The 2017 faculty biennial features new visions of artists working in a variety of media—painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, installation, kinetic work, mixed-media, book art, and video. If anything connects the 20 artists in the show, it is their “abiding love for the well-made object,” as one of the artists put it, and their deep concern with cultural and political issues. The works range widely, from explorations of the medium and processes of art making to the probing of social and existential issues, such as the complexities of queer and trans gender identities; and from evocations of the mysteries of natural forces to studies of ecosystems and global warming. Here the faculty does not deliver lectures but presents thinking though making.

The exhibition offers a cross section of the present faculty, introduces newcomers and, last but not least, honors a retiring faculty, Professor Elsi Vassdal-Ellis, with a small overview exhibition of her limited edition and unique book works.