Wednesday, April 28, 2010

BFA Exhibition highlights student work

By Alysia Armijo


"Three Ewers," by Jack Heimerman can be viewed at Beasley Gallery through May 6.

"Transmutation," by Erica Brown, is a collection of several oil paintings.

This week the Beasley Art Gallery will feature the Bachelor of Fine Arts Exhibition II.

Every semester the gallery hosts the BFA Exhibition, which is the culmination of the work of graduating BFA students. This semester the exhibit was split into two showings, each highlighting half of the graduating class.

Jack Heimerman is one of seven artists with work on display in the second exhibition. One of his pieces, titled “Three Ewers,” is both practical and artistic. “I like to create pieces with a function that are still artistic,” he explained. Another piece, titled “Three Tumblers,” has a similar theme, but also incorporates the negative space around the three twisted cylinders.

All of Heimerman’s pieces were fired in an anagama kiln firing. An anagama kiln is an ancient type of wood kiln that gets up to 2,500˚F and produces ash that settles on the pieces. The ash interacts with the flame of the fire and the minerals in the clay body to create a natural ash glaze.

Heimerman also collaborated on two pieces with Misty Ostrowski, who is also featured in the BFA Exhibition II. “I built the body of the pieces and she did the glazing. She used an underglaze to create the patterns on the pieces,” he said.

Another student artist in the exhibit is Erica Brown. Her collection, titled “Transmutation,” includes more than a dozen oil paintings that span over three walls. “It began as a study on communication, which is why I used the hands,” she said, “but as I continued to work on it, it began to become more about growth—both in the paintings and as an artist.”

There will be an opening reception on Friday, April 30, from 6 – 8 p.m. in Beasley Gallery. The exhibition can be viewed daily from 1 – 5 p.m. in the Beasley Gallery located on the second floor of the Fine Arts building