The School of Art and Design at West Virginia University presents Master of Fine Arts thesis exhibitions by ceramic artist Ryan Brislawn and multimedia artist Xia Zhang at the “Creative Arts Center”http://www.cac.wvu.edu Mesaros Galleries from March 16 to April 3.
Brislawn and Zhang are currently MFA candidates at West Virginia University, and will graduate in May 2015. There will be receptions for the exhibitions on March 20. Brislawn’s exhibition will be held at 5 p.m. and Zhang’s at 7:30 p.m. at the galleries, located in the main lobby of the Creative Arts Center. All the events are free and open to the public.
Zhang’s exhibition, “Contemplations of Otherness & Beauty,” open March 16 through April 3, explores the ideas of otherness and both internal and external beauty. The work derives from diminishing memories of her childhood, to present-day endeavors and failures.
In creating this work, Zhang said she hoped to fully understand situations and experiences that define her, by working with objects and materials that are personally symbolic.
Zhang also incorporates video and photography into her work. In “The Thoroughness of Your Seediness,” she projects a video of herself slicing and then sewing back together a pomegranate to display and then hide the seeds within. She said she uses video to capture the ephemeral quality of this symbolic task that stands for a personal relationship between another person and herself.
Ryan Brislawn will be showing his wood-fired utilitarian ceramic pottery in his exhibition, titled “Form & Fire,” during March 16 through March 20.
While backpacking in eastern Oregon and northern Arizona, Ryan became enamored with the geological process and the earth tones of the Painted Desert.
“Wood-firing brings out the beauty in the clay, and tells the story of the flame,” he said. “The transformative nature of making pottery creates a beautiful allegory for how we change and transform during our life time.”
He said flasks are his favorite vessel to make, because they can be put in a pocket and taken out on an adventure.
Brislawn received his BFA from Central Washington University in 2012 where he received a grant to build a wood-fired kiln. After his acceptance to WVU as a graduate student, he studied for a semester in Jingdezhen, China, as part of the School of Art and Design’s program at Jingdezhen.
The gallery hours are Monday through Saturday, noon to 9:30 p.m. The galleries are closed on Sundays and University holidays.
For more information on the event, contact Robert Bridges, curator of the Mesaros Galleries at 304-293-2312.
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CONTACT: Charlene Lattea, College of Creative Arts
304-293-4359, Charlene.Lattea@mail.wvu.edu
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