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PRESS RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION 10/22/02
ART EXHIBITIONS, Illinois Wesleyan University
FROM: Jennifer Lapham, Director, Merwin & Wakeley Galleries, IWU
PHONE 309-556-3391 FAX: 309-556-3976
RE: ART EXHIBITIONS
LOCATION: Merwin & Wakeley Galleries, Ames School of Art
Illinois Wesleyan University, 6 Ames Plaza West, Bloomington, IL 61702
GALLERY HOURS:Monday-Friday: 12-4pm
Tuesday evening: 7-9pm
Saturday, Sunday: 1-4pm
*All events are free and open to the public.
INFORMATION
DATES: November 5 - December 6, 2002
(closed Thanksgiving Break: Nov. 27-Dec. 1)
MERWIN GALLERY
ARTIST: Matthew Zupnick
EXHIBITION TITLE: Directions (Recent Sculpture)
WAKELEY GALLERY
ARTIST: Erin Furimsky
EXHIBITION TITLE: From Luxury to Necessity
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5 4-5pm gallery talk with Matthew Zupnick
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Matthew Zupnick, The Merwin Gallery
EXHIBITION TITLE: Directions (Recent Sculpture)
On display in the Merwin Gallery will be recent sculpture by Missouri artist Matthew Zupnick whose works are created primarily from traditional sculptural materials such as steel, bronze and wood. The human figure, especially the face, is a dominant feature in Zupnick's work and is combined with structural and abstract forms that give the work an allegorical quality. The artist states: "The images and symbols created have a literary sense to them. I deconstruct these influences then reconstruct them as my own folklore. These fables are then embedded into a created environment for my audience to visit."
Zupnick is Associate Professor of Art at Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg, MO where he teaches sculpture and three-dimensional design. Zupnick has exhibited throughout the United States for over ten years and has received numerous grants and awards for his work.
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Erin Furimsky, The Wakeley Gallery
EXHIBITION TITLE: From Luxury to Necessity
On display in the Wakeley Gallery will be a recent body of work entitled From Luxury to Necessity. The artist, Erin Furimsky, is new to the Bloomington Normal community, having just completed her Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in ceramics at Ohio State University.
Furimsky's ceramic sculpture asks the question: "What happens when the decorative aspect of an object becomes its function?". Her work explores the relationship, evident throughout the history of ceramics, between ornamental wares for luxury use and objects whose design is determined solely by their function. The scale and volume of Furimsky's pieces suggest familiar forms such as irons, telephones and vases combined with decorative surfaces that are reminiscent of floral wallpaper and fabrics. Close investigation of these works encourages viewers to consider how decorative aspects of functional objects reinforce a sense of comfort, purpose and beauty in our surroundings.
