Art professors at Sonoma State University don't just teach — most are also working artists constantly creating new pieces year-round. Their students, as well as the public, will have a chance to see their latest works in the University Art Gallery's Art Studio Faculty Exhibition, which opens with a free reception for the artists Thursday, Sept. 7, 4-6 p.m., and runs through Sunday, Oct. 15.
Gallery Director Michael Schwager hopes the new faculty exhibition peaks the interest of not only art students but non-majors as well. “This is an important opportunity for the entire SSU community to view the creative work of the Art Department's studio faculty," says Schwager, who is also a professor of art history. “It's especially important for students to reinforce the idea that their studio professors are also practicing artists active in the art world.”
The exhibition features works by Emily Davis Adams (painting and drawing); Shannon Benine (photography); Jeremiah Barber (sculpture); Jenny Braun (printmaking); Clea Felien (painting); Nathan Haenlein (printmaking); Kurt Kemp (drawing and printmaking); Jann Nunn (sculpture); Kate Oltmann (painting and printmaking); Sasha Petrenko (sculpture); Gregory Roberts (ceramic sculpture); Billie Stultz (photography); and Cathy Lu (ceramics).
This year, the faculty exhibition has grown from nine artists to 13 with the addition of several visiting professors. “This year we have two visiting faculty in Clea Felien from Los Angeles and Emily Davis Adams from New York, as well as several new adjuncts whose work is largely unfamiliar to students and the broader SSU community," says Schwager. “Like all of the exhibitions presented in the University Art Gallery, the Art Studio Faculty Exhibition is an educational opportunity — a chance to learn by seeing new images, new materials, new techniques, and new ideas.”
The University Art Gallery is open Tuesday-Friday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, noon-4 p.m. Admission is free, parking is $5-$8 on campus. For more information, call (707) 664-2295
About the University Art Gallery
Presentation of the SSU Art Studio Faculty Exhibition and all University Art Gallery programs is made possible with proceeds from the annual Art from the Heart benefit auction, and through grants from the Instructionally Related Activities Fund of SSU. The University Art Gallery, founded in 1978 on the campus of Sonoma State University, is dedicated to the presentation of exhibitions, publications, and lectures and symposia on a diverse range of styles, issues and ideas within contemporary art.