- University News Archive - ��Vlog��ý Little Rock

Windgate Center of Art and Design installs first artwork in outdoor sculpture garden

Janea Snyder — Fri, 05 Oct 2018 19:28:24 +0000

Visitors to the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Windgate Center of Art and Design will now see art before they even enter the doors. A 7-foot-tall wooden sculpture by Arkansas artist was installed this week on the center’s plaza entry as the first in the center’s Sculpture Garden. On Thursday, Oct. 4, more than 100 patrons gathered at the Windgate Center to celebrate the new artwork and to honor Horn, whose longtime support for art and education was instrumental in the creation of the Windgate Center of Art and Design. Horn’s sculpture, purchased by the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Foundation, is a redwood and dye creation titled “Hypothetical Destination” – a phrase borrowed from lyrics in the James Taylor song “Walking Man.” (Horn is a huge James Taylor fan.) “Moving in silent desperation Keeping an eye on the holy land A hypothetical destination Say, who is this walking man?” The sculpture is one of the works from Horn’s Slipping Stone Series, a recurring theme throughout her career. “It is a wonderful inaugural piece for our forthcoming sculpture garden in this plaza,” said Tom Clifton, chair of the Department of Art and Design. “The sense of motion created by the slipping stones is aligned perfectly to the forward momentum of the Windgate Center of Art and Design, and it’s an honor for all of us fortunate enough to be part of this time in the history of the department.” Horn, who has been wood sculptor for more than 30 years, is known nationally for her sculptures and paintings. Her work has been exhibited and included in public collections across the country, including at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville. A collection of Horn’s sculptures is also on display inside the Brad Cushman Gallery through the weekend. In the top right photo, party guests toast sculptor Robyn Horn during a reception celebrating Horn’s work and the installation of a new art piece in front of ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s Windgate Center of Art and Design. Above right: “Hypothetical Destination,” a wood sculpture by Robyn Horn, has been installed outside the Windgate Center of Art and Design. Photos by Benjamin Krain

��Vlog��ý Little Rock alumna lends artistic touch to NYC exhibit

Janea Snyder — Thu, 19 Jul 2018 20:51:36 +0000

Little Rock artist never stops looking for new ways to collaborate on art. And that is precisely how the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock alumna recently found herself in New York City’s Times Square helping install “Wake,”one of conceptual artist Mel Chin’s new works. “Wake,” commissioned by is a 60-foot-tall animatronic sculpture that resembles a cross between a shipwreck and the skeletal remains of a marine mammal that rise up from Times Square. On the ship’s bow is the figurehead of Jenny Lind, an opera star known as the “Swedish Nightingale” and for whom the USS Nightingale tea clipper and slave ship were named. Chin’s other piece, “Unmoored,” is a digitally interactive mixed reality counterpart to “Wake.” Together, the two works “open a physical and virtual gateway to the future of human existence, inviting participants to contemplate their place within the world’s transforming climate,” according to Times Square Arts. Faculty, students and staff at the engineered and fabricated the structure of “Wake.” The head of the female figure gently nods, and her chest rises and compresses, as if she is breathing. Sell, who was an artist-in-resident at UNC in March, was one of many people who worked on the elaborate project. “My primary role was to construct, then carve, the figure’s dress,” she said. “It was a fantastic opportunity to share my experience with the team and engage in collaborative thinking.” Sell worked on the piece for four weeks, leading up to the sculpture’s installment on July 11 in Times Square. The structure was built with segments in mind, so it could be deconstructed, shipped then reconstructed on site. “I was extremely excited to come in and lend a hand in the last 24 hours of installation,” Sell said. “The team had worked extremely hard, and it was a pleasure to bring some fresh energy to help with the last push. The opening day was great, and so many people showed up.” Times Square is just one location for art that is part of the larger exhibit “Mel Chin: All Over the Place,” co-produced by and the . The exhibition spans nearly four decades of Chin’s work – at sites including the Queens Museum, Times Square, the Broadway-Lafayette subway station, and streaming online with Soundtrack – creating an infinite loop of the artist’s thinking about our world and how we choose to occupy it. “Wake” will remain in Times Square Plaza through Sept. 5. Sell is back in Little Rock now, where she retired after her 21-year career in the U.S. Army. She enrolled at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, completing a Bachelor of Arts in 2008 and a Master of Arts in 2014. Sell has also served as an apprentice to Little Rock artist Robyn Horn, who was instrumental in helping ��Vlog��ý Little Rock get its Windgate Center for Art and Design. Her creative pursuits led her to the , where she was a studio assistant for wood sculptors Stoney Lamar and Brent Skidmore. Skidmore, who directs the Craft Studies program at University of North Carolina at Asheville, then invited Sell to fill an artist-in-resident position at the university earlier this year. Soon after, she became involved working on “Wake”. A wood carver by choice, Sell also paints and does some work in found object dimensional painting. Her work is in the permanent collections of the , the University of Arkansas in Little Rock, and the Historic Arkansas Museum, along with many private collections. Since 2007, Sell’s work has been featured in over 30 exhibits in the United States. Top Right Photo: Mel Chin, Wake, 2018, multimedia. Courtesy of Chelsea Lipman for Times Square Arts

Windgate Center freshens galleries with new art, paint

Janea Snyder — Tue, 26 Jun 2018 18:53:07 +0000

New art from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s permanent art collection is on display in the Windgate Center for Art and Design through July 20, including three works of art donated or loaned by ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Basketball Coach Darrell Walker and his wife Lisa. The Walkers collect art by modern and contemporary black artists, and their collection has been featured in exhibitions around the country. The couple has donated nine works to the university’s permanent collection and loaned additional works to the curated exhibition currently on display in the Brad Cushman Gallery. Two works included in this exhibition are “Separation II,” a 1998 acrylic on paper work by artist Herbert Gentry, and “Council of Convenience,” a 1995 lithograph by artist Juan Logan.

Separation II by Herbert Gentry

Walker is also loaning “The Heartbeat of Something Unanimous,” a 1990 oil on canvas by artist Moe Brooker to the exhibition. The Cushman Gallery has been newly repainted and the works re-installed. Other additions to “Works from the Permanent Collection” include art by Alice Leora Briggs, Helen Phillips, Francoise Gilot, Elsie Bates Freund, Arnold Zimmerman, Adrian Louis Brewer, Alecia Walls-Barton, Gustave Baumann, Lorre Hoffman, Ron Meyers, Hugo Crosthwaite, Jack Radcliffe, John Harlan Norris, William Bailey, Allison Short, Chris Jenkins, Mamma Andersson, Jockum Nordström, Alex Leme, Jaime Erin Johnson, Robyn Horn, Heidi Hogden, and Trevor Bennett. The exhibition is comprised of drawings and paintings; fine art prints and photographs; sculptural objects, ceramics, and contemporary crafts. The collection represents the work of professional artists with regional, national, and international reputations and art produced by students studying art and design at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. The Brad Cushman Gallery is open 9 a.m.- 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Basketball Coach Darrell Walker poses with an oil painting, “The Heartbeat of Something Unanimous,” by artist Moe Brooker in the Brad Cushman Gallery in the Windgate Center for Art and Design. Photo of Benjamin Krain

New summer exhibit features work from ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s permanent collection

Ajani Oyindamola — Mon, 21 May 2018 16:47:38 +0000

The summer is a great time to check out the talented and diverse work of artists affiliated with the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. A group exhibition featuring work by 25 artists specially selected from the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock permanent collection is on display in the Brad Cushman Gallery in the Windgate Center of Art and Design until July 10. The exhibit is comprised of drawings, paintings, fine art prints, photographs, sculptural objects, ceramics, and contemporary crafts. The collection represents the work of professional artists with regional, national, and international reputations as well as art produced by art and design students at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. The artists with work on display include Mamma Andersson, William Bailey, Gustave Baumann, Trevor Bennett, Adrian Louis Brewer, Alice Leora Briggs, Chris Cotton, Hugo Crosthwaite, Elsie Bates Freund, Francoise Gilot, Lorre Hoffman, Robyn Horn, Heidi Hogden, Chris Jenkins, Jaime Erin Johnson, Alex Leme, Ron Meyers, Jockum Nordström, John Harlan Norris, Helen Phillips, Jack Radcliffe, Allison Short, Alecia Walls-Barton, Sally Ann Williams, and Arnold Zimmerman.

John Harlan Norris’s 2011 oil on canvas entitled “Builder.”

In the summer, the Windgate Center galleries are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and closed on university holidays. For more information, contact Gallery Director Brad Cushman at 501-916-5103 or becushman@ualr.edu. The upper right photo is Adrian Louis Brewer’s “The Cactus Hill.”

‘Nasty Woman’ exhibit coming to ��Vlog��ý Little Rock

Ajani Oyindamola — Tue, 06 Jun 2017 13:56:40 +0000

An art exhibit celebrating the female voice in art will be shown June 14 to Aug. 25 at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. “The show explores topics dealing with the woman’s perspective, from reflection on historic female figures to contemporary issues surrounding the female body, the political climate, and varied iterations of the experience of being a 21st century woman,” said Margo Duvall, assistant professor of art at Henderson State University and the show’s curator. The “Nasty Woman” exhibit will be on display in Gallery 1 of the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Fine Arts Building. A closing reception featuring talks with Duvall and participating artists will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 18. The work of three ��Vlog��ý Little Rock faculty members will be featured in the “Nasty Woman” exhibit. Several of the artists included in the exhibition have studied art at and graduated from ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. Mia Hall, interim chair of the Department of Art and Design, Joli Livaudais, assistant professor of photography, and Heidi Hogden, visiting professor of painting, are among the 36 female artists from across the nation whose work was selected for the show. Livaudais’ work, “The Mother, Exhumed,” is a life-size casting of a woman’s upper body made from epoxy resin and photographs of bees and beehives. “It ought to be a really great show, and I am proud to be in the company of so many fierce women artists,” Livaudais said. The title of the show, “Nasty Woman,” which was first displayed at Henderson State in March to celebrate Women’s History Month, stems from comments made during the 2016 presidential election.

Joli Livaudais’ work, “The Mother, Exhumed,” will be on display at the “Nasty Woman” exhibit at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock.

During the third debate in October 2016, President Donald Trump responded to a comment made about him by Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, who was answering a question about social security, by remarking,.” On Twitter, #NastyWoman was trending within minutes. “While it was first mentioned in a derogatory context, it has become a uniting force among women across the globe,” Duvall said. “For many, it represents strength, unity, and the ability to use one’s voice to be heard. The participating artists interpret their reactions through a dynamic use of photography, printmaking, painting, sculpture, and video pieces.” Participating artists include: Zina Al-Shukri, Heather Beckwith, Darcie Beeman-Black, Megan Berner, Cynthia Buob, Beverly Buys, Susan Chambers, Melissa Cowper-Smith, Norwood Creech, Nancy Dunaway, Margo Duvall, Melissa Gill, Mia Hall, Louise Halsey, Diane Harper, Tammy Harrington, Heidi Hogden, Robyn Horn, Erin House, Jeanie Hursley, Catherine Kim, Kimberly Kwee, Joli Livaudais, Angie Macri, Hannah May, Rosemary Meza-DesPlas, Catherine Siri Nugent Laura Raborn, Emily Rogers, Dina Ropele Santos, Dominique Simmons, Kasten Searles, Katherine Strause, Brittany Wilder, Kat Wilson, and Miranda Young-Rice. The ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Art Gallery is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Admission is free. For more information, contact Brad Cushman at becushman@ualr.edu or 501.569.8977 or Margo Duvall at duvallm@hsu.edu or 870.230.5207. In the upper right photo, Zina Al-Shukri’s charcoal drawing, “Gushing with Confidence and Jealousy,” is one of the works on display in the “Nasty Woman” exhibit at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock.

- University News Archive - ����Vlog��ý Little Rock

Windgate Center of Art and Design installs first artwork in outdoor sculpture garden

����Vlog��ý Little Rock alumna lends artistic touch to NYC exhibit

Windgate Center freshens galleries with new art, paint

New summer exhibit features work from ����Vlog��ý Little Rock’s permanent collection

‘Nasty Woman’ exhibit coming to ����Vlog��ý Little Rock

- University News Archive - ��Vlog��ý Little Rock

��Vlog��ý Little Rock alumna lends artistic touch to NYC exhibit

New summer exhibit features work from ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s permanent collection

‘Nasty Woman’ exhibit coming to ��Vlog��ý Little Rock