The UTC Cress Gallery of Art is beginning this academic year with a chance for everyone to see what the Art Department faculty can do. One piece in particular will, for the first time, spill out of the gallery and into the Fine Arts lobby. “We had to get special permission, but everyone is really excited,” says Ruth Grover, Director and Curator of the Cress Gallery of Art.
The “UTC Department of Art Biennial Faculty Exhibition,” which will run through October 4th, presents the opportunity to see the work of the Art Department studio faculty. This year’s exhibit will feature a variety of art forms, including painting, photography, drawing, sculpture, graphic design, printmaking, and other more surprising media.
Grover says that the exhibition gives people a chance to see the culmination of all the work the art faculty does.
“People don’t realize art isn’t just about the making of it, but also about the research that goes into it. They do a lot to figure out how to express that research in a visual form,” Grover said, “It gives people a chance to see the amazing range of work our faculty produce, which indicates the breadth of education that our students receive. And yet there’s a cohesiveness of approach, an interconnectedness of thinking through the creative process, that really unites this faculty.”
What’s Coming Up
The Cress Gallery will also feature artists Michael Scoggins, from October 15 – December 6, and Michelle Segre, from February 4 – March 20, from the Diane Marek Visiting Artist Series, which invites two to four artists working in a national scale to visit the UTC campus for five to seven days at a time.
Diane Marek Visiting Artists participate in a program of both one-on-one and group activities with UTC Department of Art student majors, members of the University’s campus, students and educators from other Chattanooga area academic institutions both public and private, and the citizens and artists of the Chattanooga community and beyond.
In addition, the gallery will also present “The World of Andy Warhol,” from October 15 – December 6. This exhibit will feature Polaroid and gelatin-silver photographs by Andy Warhol from the UTC Permanent Collection of Art.
From January 7 – 27, the gallery will also feature the annual “UTC Department of Art Juried Student Exhibition.” All art majors are allowed to submit up to two works which will be judged by an outside juror. The works are selected to be displayed in the exhibition highlighting the best student work.
Plan a Visit
Grover says that the gallery has something to offer everyone. The Cress emphasizes diversity in mediums and style.
“I think by looking at art, we understand who we are. We gain a fuller understanding of who we are, not only as individuals, but as a culture,” says Grover.
Gallery hours are 9:30 a.m. – 7:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 1 – 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Admission to the Cress Gallery is free of charge and open to the public. For more information about the Cress Gallery and its upcoming exhibits, see the Cress Gallery home page (http://www.cressgallery.org/).
