Student and graduate artwork displayed at Weatherspoon, EUC

UNCG's art program is well known and respected, and the fruits of that program are currently on display at the EUC Art Gallery and the Weatherspoon.

Senior Laura Cowan and UNCG alumni Janet Oliver both have works prominently featured in the EUC's "All Women's Exhibition." With Cowan's five works and Oliver's four paintings, the UNCG artists' work makes up the majority of the exhibition.

Cowan's works display a variety of mediums, including photography, charcoal drawing, and plaster. Oliver, whose work has appeared in a vast number of exhibitions during and since her time at UNCG, says of her paintings, "I rely solely on childhood memories to make my paintings... I stand in front of my blank canvas and wait for the memories to come forward." Indeed, her paintings with their brightly colored surreal images, display this innocence combined with a technical mastery.

The diversity and talent of UNCG art students can also be viewed at the Weatherspoon's Juried Seniors Exhibition. The exhibition was open for entry to all art students graduating during the 2002-03 academic year, and the ultimate exhibition shows the variety of ways in which the contemporary artist can express him or herself. Wire sculptures are displayed next to pottery, computer graphic designs share space with paintings and photographs, the diversity of the work is remarkable.

This year's juror for the exhibition was Ann Roth, gallery director at Meredith College, and part of the Adjunct Art Department Faculty. In a message to the students whose work she judged, Roth advised that "going through the jurying process is an essential professional experience." She also reminded all aspiring artists that "there is a place for almost any artistic expression, you just have to keep looking until you find it," and that "[she] respect[s] everyone who took the risk to enter."

The seniors chosen by Roth for this years exhibition are, in no particular order: Amanda Barbee, Derek Toomes, Laura Brown, Susan Dickey, Joseph Giambino, Mathew Curran, Justin Life, Joseph H. Cannon III, Rebecca Clodfelter, Wesley Corn, Matthew Nolan, Amanda Hampton, Emily Fitch, Maryah Smith-Overman, Leigh Johnson, Keith Kissel, Jameson Bennet, Alisha Strater, Sarah Dickerson, Corey Carter, Kristin Tharpe, Melissa Poppe, Katherine E. Gavitt, Michael Garrett, Tina West, Susan Watson, and Alison Della Bitta. Congratulations to all of them. The Juried Seniors Exhibition will be on display at the Weatherspoon until May 4, 2003.