New exhibitions opening in the Mesaros Galleries at the Creative Arts Center this week feature works by Bill Gilbert, a faculty member at the University of New Mexico, and Erika Osborne, who is currently assistant professor of art in the Division of Art and Design at West Virginia University. Both exhibitions will be open Oct. 14 through Nov. 19.
Gilbert will present a visiting artist lecture at the Creative Arts Center on Thursday, Oct. 28, at 5 p.m. in the Bloch Learning and Performance Hall (200A). The opening reception for the exhibition will follow at 6 p.m. at the galleries.
His exhibition, titled “Physiocartographies,” will be on view in the Laura Mesaros Gallery.
Osborne will present a lecture about her work Thursday, Nov. 4, at 5 p.m. in the Bloch Learning and Performance Hall, with a reception following at 6 p.m. at the Galleries. Her exhibition is titled “Wood Work.”
Gilbert has been on the faculty in the Department of Art and Art History at the University of New Mexico since 1988, where he holds the Lannan Endowed Chair as director of the Land Arts of the American West program. He is also the co-founder of the new Art & Ecology emphasis in studio art and has recently been appointed as senior associate dean for research of the College of Fine Arts. Gilbert has exhibited his place-based, mixed-media installation and video works internationally since 1981. He received a Lila Wallace Arts International Grant in 1994 to work with the Quichua people of Ecuador and has curated numerous exhibitions and written essays regarding the work of indigenous artists from the U.S. Pueblos, Juan Mata Ortiz, Mexico, and Pastaza, Ecuador.
Osborne received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Utah in painting and drawing and her Master of Fine Arts from the University of New Mexico. Her artwork deals directly with cultural connections to place and environment. She has exhibited extensively nationally and internationally, with six solo exhibitions and more than 30 group exhibitions in recent years. She has also been the recipient of numerous grants and awards, locally, nationally and internationally. Her work has been highlighted in regional publications, along with national art magazines such as Art Papers, Sculpture Magazine and Southwest Art Magazine.
Managed and programmed by Curator Robert Bridges and the WVU Division of Art, the Mesaros Galleries organize a diverse and exciting schedule of exhibitions throughout the year. The galleries are committed to showing experimental work that is innovative both in terms of media and content. The Mesaros Galleries and the WVU Division of Art and Design also host contemporary artists of important or growing reputation who work in all media in the Visiting Artist Program.
All Mesaros Galleries events, including art lectures, exhibitions and receptions are free and open to the public.
Gallery hours are Monday through Saturday, from noon to 9:30 p.m. The galleries are closed Sundays and University holidays. Special individual or group viewing times may be arranged upon request.
For more information, contact Robert Bridges, curator, at (304) 293-2312.
-WVU-
CONTACT: Charlene Lattea, College of Creative Arts
304-293-4841 ext. 3108, Charlene.Lattea@mail.wvu.edu
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