鈥淣ight Visions鈥� brought to Georgia Southern鈥檚 Contemporary Gallery
鈥淣ight Visions,鈥� a painting and sculpture hybrid exhibit by Chicago-based artist , will be presented at Georgia Southern鈥檚 Contemporary Gallery at the Center for Art and Theatre (CAT) from Feb. 15 to March 17. A lecture and reception will be held on Feb. 15. The Artist Talk will begin at 5 p.m. in Art Building, room 2071, with the reception to follow from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the CAT.
Inspired by Grace Jones鈥� iconic 1981 album 鈥淣ightclubbing,鈥� 鈥淣ight Visions鈥� uses humor, acidic color and absurd pop culture references to create large-scale inflatable painting/sculpture-hybrid work that rejects longstanding art world traditions.
鈥淚 wanted to bring Claire鈥檚 work here because it has a good combination of being challenging, while at the same time being fun and engaging,鈥� said Jason Hoelscher, MFA, gallery director. 鈥淎rt that poses big questions like 鈥榃hat is art?鈥� or 鈥榃hy is this art?鈥� can sometimes be be dull or stuffy, but Ashley’s work is anything but. The notion of a painting as an inflatable surface – rather than a flat plane – is an interesting one from a theoretical point of view, but is also just plain fun to engage: who doesn’t feel a bit like a kid again when surrounded by big, weird, inflatable objects?鈥�
Ashley鈥檚 work is deeply feminist and is particularly invested in exploding the structural possibilities of abstract painting, expanding kinetic possibilities for monumental sculpture and enlivening the dialogue around contemporary art by utilizing a deliberately egalitarian collection of humorous and formal entry points for multiple communities to engage with her work. 鈥淣ight Visions鈥� will transform the gallery into a nightclub-like setting using projections and internally lit inflating/deflating 鈥渂reathing鈥� painted sculptures.
鈥淐laire Ashley’s work combines large scale – often considered, or at least intended to be read as, a sign of big, serious art – with a sense of fun and engaged interaction,鈥� said Hoelscher. 鈥淭he objects are painterly in ways that light up an art critic’s brain with interesting questions and problems, while also lighting up the pleasure or fun center of the brain. Much fun art is shallow, much 鈥榙eep鈥� art isn’t necessarily fun or viscerally interesting, but Ashley’s work manages to bridge these divides.
鈥淔or that matter, as more and more of our cultural objects dissolve into the immateriality of screen space, there’s a real, visceral pleasure in being around objects and tangible things,鈥� he continued. 鈥淲ith Ashley鈥檚 work, the fun becomes serious, the serious becomes fun, and the two combine to pose important questions about, and challenges to, what we have come to expect from art experiences in this second decade of the 21st century.鈥�
All events are free and the public is invited to attend.
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The College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS) is the largest of the eight colleges that make up 秋葵视频, and it plays a central role in every student鈥檚 core of knowledge. CLASS, also described as the University鈥檚 College of the Creative Mind, prepares students to achieve academic excellence, develop their analytical skills, enhance their creativity and embrace their responsibilities as citizens of their communities, their nations and the world. CLASS offers more than 20 undergraduate degrees and several interdisciplinary minors from its 11 departments and five academic centers. CLASS offers eight master鈥檚 degrees, two graduate certificates and one doctoral degree. For more information, visit .
秋葵视频, a public Carnegie Doctoral/Research University founded in 1906, offers more than 125 degree programs serving 20,674 students. Through eight colleges, the University offers bachelor鈥檚, master鈥檚 and doctoral degree programs built on more than a century of academic achievement. Georgia Southern is recognized for its student-centered and hands-on approach to education. Visit .