UIS Visual Arts Blog

Application forms can be found in the VPA 62 Office.

The scholarships and eligibility requirements are:

1. The Andrew Glosecki Scholarship – This is a $300 merit scholarship. Each application will be impartially considered by a panel of jurors comprised of the UIS Visual Arts Department Faculty and one outside art practioner. This scholarship was donated in the memory of Andrew Glosecki to award a deserving student for excellence in ceramics.  Mr. Glosecki was a long time ceramics student at UIS who contributed greatly to the Springfield community at large.  Among many charitable endeavors, perhaps Mr. Glosecki’s greatest gift was playing Santa Claus for area children for over 40 years.  It is with great admiration and gratitude that we can continue his benevolent legacy.
ELIGIBILITY
Must be currently enrolled in at least one Ceramics class
Must be enrolled at least half time at UIS
Must have a GPA of 3.0 or higher

2. The Daniel Lesh Memorial Award – This is a $300 merit award. Each application will be impartially considered by a panel of jurors comprised of the UIS Visual Arts Department Faculty and one outside art practioner.  This Scholarship was donated in the memory of Daniel Lesh, a UIS Art Major.  Daniel was working toward a Bachelor of Arts degree in Studio Art when his life was tragically cut short. It is an honor to offer this award on behalf of Daniel’s family and friend.
ELIGIBILITY
Must be a fulltime student in Fall 2013
Must be a Visual Arts Major
Must demonstrate evidence of financial need

3. The Ceramics Encouragement Award for Spring 2013 – This is a $500 merit scholarship. Each application will be impartially considered by a panel of jurors comprised of the UIS Visual Arts Department Faculty and Visual Arts Students.
ELIGIBILITY
Must be currently enrolled in at least one Ceramics class
Must be enrolled as at least a half time student
Must have a GPA of 3.0 or higher
Preference given to a student in her/his junior year

4. Four Studio Space Scholarships for the 2013/2014 Academic Year.  This is an opportunity for Sophomore or Junior Visual Arts Majors to receive an important privilege for the upcoming school year.  Each application will be impartially considered by a panel of jurors comprised of the UIS Visual Arts Department Faculty.  Awarded students will have 24-hour access to a 10 x 10 private studio space in the UIS Visual and Performing Arts Building for the 2013/2014 Academic Year.
ELIGIBILITY
All media are eligible
Must be an Visual Arts Major
Must have a GPA of 3.0 or higher
Must be a Junior or Senior at the time the space will be occupied
Must demonstrate diligence and facility in art practice
Must show clear intent to use space for art making

The Visual Arts Gallery at the University of Illinois Springfield presents |fon’ seks|: Digital Devices and the Transformation of Intimacy. This nationally juried exhibition explores the impact that digital devices have had on intimacy and previously assumed private and personal sexual behaviors.

An opening reception that includes a brief talk from the jurors, Assistant Professor of Art Dave Kube and Assistant Professor of Women and Gender Studies Michael Murphy, will take place on Thursday, March 7 from 5:30 to 8 p.m.

Celebrities, congressmen, and amorous teenagers have discovered – often to their shock and embarrassment – that the meaning of dating, relationships, romance, and even sex itself is currently being renegotiated in light of the fluorescent glow of handheld digital devices. The advent of handheld digital technology seems to have heralded something entirely new. iPhones, Blackberries, and Androids are transforming what it means to be sexually intimate in the 21st century. We are witnessing a revolution in human intimacy and this one will be televised…via the XTube mobile app on your iPhone 4GS. In light of this, how should we view the transformation of intimate relations enabled by handheld digital devices? The artists and works included in this exhibition address this core theme through a variety of responses, interpretations, and media.

Exhibiting artists include Cory Peeke, Sean Fader, Jon Henry, Craig Ryan, Chad States, Lauren McGinn, Michael Max McLeod, Malena Barnhart, Jonathan Armistead, Coalfather Industries, Liat Berdugo, and Erin M. Riley. A Best in Show Award and two Honorable Mentions will be revealed at the reception.
|fon’ seks|: Digital Devices and the Transformation of Intimacy will open at the UIS Visual Arts Gallery on Monday, March 4 and run through Thursday, April 11. The opening reception will take place on Thursday, March 7 from 5:30-8 p.m., and will include a brief jurors talk. Complimentary refreshments will be provided. This event is free and open to the public.

The UIS Visual Arts Gallery is centrally located on the UIS campus in the Health and Science Building, room 201 (HSB 201). Gallery hours are Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information on exhibitions, please visit the UIS Visual Arts Gallery website at www.uis.edu/visualarts/gallery, or contact the gallery by phone at 217/206-6506 or email Allison Lacher at alach3@uis.edu.

“It’s that time of year again!” I hear these words tossed around as the days get closer to the start of the New Year and everything that has to do with 2012 gives way for a new start. This is all fine and dandy, but as the days pass by, I find myself wondering one question,” What does that phrase even mean anymore?” For some, it may just mean that it is getting closer to Christmas. Others may look at it as nearing the end of the semester. The reasons can go on forever, but one thing is for sure: it is time for the 2012 Silent Auction Benefit!

Every fall, the UIS Visual Arts Gallery begins to ask around from local and student artists to donate work to go up for auction to raise money to keep future gallery programs a possibility. Throughout the month of December, the pieces have slowly flowed into my little office within the gallery. It was almost to the point where I had to sacrifice the seating for the pieces! But now that is all over. The pieces are in place and the doors are open to all bids!

As I mentioned before, the proceeds for this auction go to funding future gallery programs. But that is not to say that the pieces that were donated are only worth a “fundraiser” title. In reality, the work that I have watched being displayed have come out of not only private collections, but from students, faculty, and local artists who wish to keep things rolling smooth for the Gallery.

If you find yourself around the Health and Science building and feel a strange urge to discover an artistic gift for someone, or maybe even add a piece of original art to your own collection, I would highly suggest stopping by HSB 201 to see the show. The floor is open to the public as of today, December 10th, and will remain open for bidding until Dec. 13th. Don’t like art? Lucky for you there will still be activities in which you could find other interests. For instance, the UIS Chorus will be performing holiday music for all that wish to listen. This will take place on Dec. 13th from 5:30 PM – 6:00 PM and will be closely followed by the Chamber Ensemble from 6:10 PM – 6:40 PM. This doesn’t peak your interest either? Then you can at least come out for the free food and wine!

Hope to see you all there!

From February 2 until March 8, the UIS Visual Arts gallery is transformed into That’s Love, Baby by artist and UIS Adjunct Assistant Professor Allison Lacher. The installation takes the audience into a new environment surrounded by bright colors and piles of ribbons and bows.  The piece consists of an atmosphere built with color, ribbon, glitter, wood, and steel. During her artist speech in the opening on February 9, Lacher explained she used a mix of traditional art and craft materials. Lacher used these materials with the intention of letting the audience set their own scene and take away their own personal story from the gallery.

The most prominent pieces within the installation are bows of varying colors and sizes. Lacher shared that the reason she included the bows in her work is she views them as “over confident knots.” The decorative ribbons appear vulnerable and can be undone easily, but have been made with deliberate intentions.  Overall, That’s Love, Baby is a piece that each viewer can experience and create different opinions of what the work meant to them.

The University of Illinois Springfield Visual Arts Gallery announces That’s Love, Baby, an exhibition of sculptural and installation-based works by artist Allison Lacher. The exhibition runs from February 2 through March 8, 2012. A reception will take place on February 9 from 5:30-8 p.m.

Allison Lacher, a sculptor and installation artist, playfully explores themes of young love, domesticity, and naiveté with the exhibition That’s Love Baby. Lacher aims to create emotionally charged work that is narrative-based, but non-conclusive, and reliant on an atmosphere of fantasy imbued with the subtle presence of reality. Many of the pieces featured in this exhibit were initiated during a 2011 one-month artist residency award at the Prairie Center of the Arts in Peoria.

“At the time I was very much interested exploring the transition from being naive to being experienced, largely in terms of emotion and relationships,” said Lacher. “I wanted the work to reflect a nearly unblemished naiveté that appears right on the verge of, well, knowing better. I wanted to give visualization to that emotional state as it was barely underway and imminent.”

Lacher is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Visual Arts and Gallery Manager at UIS. Her past exhibition venues include Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, NJ; Southeastern Contemporary Art Gallery in Hammond, LA ; The Utah Museum of Contemporary Art in Salt Lake City, UT; and Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, VT. Lacher was a 2009 Illinois Arts Council Fellowship recipient.

That’s Love, Baby will open at the UIS Visual Arts Gallery on Thursday, February 2, and will run through Thursday, March 8. A reception will take place on Thursday, February 9 from 5:30-8 p.m.  The artist will be present throughout the reception to engage with the audience and to present a brief artist talk that addresses her work and concepts. Complimentary refreshments will be provided. This event is free and open to the public.

The UIS Visual Arts Gallery is centrally located on the UIS campus in the Health and Science Building, room 201 (HSB 201).  Gallery hours are Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

For more information on That’s Love, Baby and future exhibitions, please visit the UIS Visual Arts Gallery website at www.uis.edu/visualarts/gallery, or contact the gallery by phone at 217/206-6506 or email: gallery@uis.edu.

Once again, UIS is featuring artwork from Lincoln Land Community College students. We’ve got a wide variety of works from different students this year, including several sculptural pieces, digital media work, oil paintings, and drawings, to name a few. The show is located in UIS’s Access Gallery in the Visual Arts Building, the work will be on display starting November 24, 2011 and will run though December 8, 2011. While you’re there be sure to pay close attention to several outstanding oil paintings and notable photography pieces.

Viewers are encouraged to attend the opening and awards reception on December 1, 2001 from 5-7 pm, it will also be located in the Access Gallery in the Visual Arts Building on the southeast side of campus. We look forward to seeing you there!

When I entered the gallery for Snapshots by Shane Harris, I was first drawn around the room to the tiny sculptures that lined shelves on the walls. Then I noticed the pedestals in the center of the room set up with different objects.  Another aspect to the show was the photographs on the wall. Being a photographer, those became my favorite part of the gallery.
The viewers are invited to create their own still life ‘snapshots’ with the objects on the pedestals. I found myself at first uncomfortable with the thought touching and moving the pieces. A gallery is usually a “look don’t touch” setting. The fact that the artist intends for the viewers to interact with his pieces gave the show a different, more intimate feel. The reception for Snapshots begins tonight, November 17^th from 5:30-8:00pm.

The UIS Visual Arts Gallery proudly presents Snapshots, an exhibition of work by UIS Visual Arts Assistant Professor Shane Harris. Snapshots will open at the UIS Visual Arts Gallery on Thursday, November 10^th and will run through Thursday, December 1^st. The opening reception will take place on Thursday, November 17^th from 5:30-8:00 PM.  The artist will be present throughout the opening reception to engage with the audience and to also present a brief artist talk that addresses his work and concepts. Complimentary refreshments will be provided. This event is free and open to the public.

Shane Harris explores the concepts of play, intimacy and relationships with the exhibition Snapshots. This interactive installation offers the audience a rare opportunity to handle and play with a variety of small-scale sculptural pieces and to also create their own “snapshots”. The backdrop for this engaging visual playground will include digital prints and mixed media sculptures.

Harris, an Illinois native, has exhibited nationally and has received awards and acclaim for his work.  He develops small-scale objects to communicate, on an emotional and personal level, with his viewers. “I use small scale to represent not only physical intimacy but emotional intimacy as well. I have always liked small objects that carry a powerful meaning,” says Harris. Harris partners his objects with digital images that he has staged, using his small-scale objects as subjects themselves. “Similar to the impact of looking at a photo album, which can evoke memories and feelings, looking at my abstract objects arranged in an intimate picture can also evoke or trigger an emotional response.” To learn more about Shane Harris and his work, visit his website at http://shaneharrisceramics.com

The UIS Visual Arts Gallery is centrally located on the UIS campus in the Health and Science Building, room 201 (HSB 201).  Gallery hours are Monday through Thursday, 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM.  For more information on Snapshots and future exhibitions, please visit the UIS Visual Arts Gallery website at http://www.uis.edu/visualarts/gallery, or contact the gallery by phone at (217) 206-6506 or email: gallery@uis.edu

Part of the senior preview show now up in VPA

The current show in the VPA gallery exhibits the works of senior Visual Art majors expecting to graduate in spring, summer or fall of 2012. Each student was required to enter two pieces that show their progress towards the final senior show in the spring. Along with this show, the students had an individual critique with the professors of the art department. The preview show will be up until October 13th. If you’re in the VPA this week, be sure to stop by and check out the talented seniors here at UIS!

For those students who have taken a look around the Visual Arts building on campus, you may have noticed some of the updates that we’ve had to our equipment. The Mac lab in room 54 has been upgraded with brand new iMac desk top computers. They come with top of the line features including: LED-backlit displays, faster processors, even more flash ports, and the newest Adobe Suit programs for better, faster, graphics capabilities. In addition there have been several new printers added to the family, including one commercial grade printer capable of printing the largest images students have ever had access to at UIS. For students who frequent the lighting studio, there have been several upgrades in the studio lights also. We are also currently hard at work rearranging the lighting studio and the ceramic photo station to make more room for students to be productive and produce the best work possible in a more friendly environment. If you haven’t checked out some of the new features in the Visual Arts building head over soon to see how the upgrade will benefit your creative art works, they are currently setting up the pricing guide for students to use our new, bigger than ever, printer! We hope to see you soon.

Coming soon the UIS Visual Arts Gallery…

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Partners-on-Paper-A-Citywide-Celebration-of-the-Role-of-Paper-in-Art/174165382644693?sk=info

Stay tuned!

Join the Visual Arts Gallery Facebook group for additional news, photos, and links about shows and gallery events.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/53534828589/

Springfield, IL — Showcase, an exhibition of work by artists working as high school art teachers in the central Illinois region opens at the UIS Visual Arts Gallery (HSB 201) on August 29th and closes on September 22^nd.  There will be a reception on Thursday September 1^st from 5:30-8pm.  The reception and exhibit are free and open to the public.  We welcome students and their families to come out to support their favorite art teachers.

Join the UIS community as we recognize the creativity, expertise and accomplishment of our area arts educators.  The exhibit features works in a variety of materials and processes including painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, and mixed media.

The UIS Visual Arts Gallery is centrally located on the UIS campus in the Health and Science Building (HSB 201) .  Gallery hours are Mon.-Thurs. 11am-6pm.  For more information contact the gallery by phone at (217) 206-6506 or by email at: gallery@uis.edu Web site: http://www.uis.edu/visualarts/gallery.html

For the month of June, The HumanThread Center in
Pilsen’s Chicago Arts District showcases the next exhibition in its thought-provoking series. Celebrating a culture of peace, HumanThread expresses Chicago’s creative culture by curating monthly exhibitions that discuss issues of cultural identity and social importance.

Illinois photographer Dave Kube brings his Queering the Landscape series to Chicago during LGBTQ pride month. This thought-provoking
body of work explores the simultaneous connectivity and dissonance of time and space through the lens of a gay man. Utilizing the rural Midwest as his familiar backdrop, Kube dissects identity with confrontation, humor and simple harmony.

Exhibit is open by appointments:
June 1-30, 2011
(student/group visits welcome)

Open to the Public:
• 2nd Fridays Chicago Arts District Gallery Night on June 10th:
6-10 pm reception with the artist.
• Free Admission, Donations are appreciated.

For further information, please contact:
e: humanthread.net@gmail.com
t: 312.243.9423
w: www.humanthread.net (www.davekube.net)

UIS Visual Arts Gallery Preparator, Ken Pease will be showing and selling his work at the Springfield Old Capitol Art Show on May 21st-22nd.  Come to booth #139 to see all the Blues Hounds, Happy Little Monsters, Furry Angels and Little Folks.  SOCAF features a children’s tent where kids can buy original artwork from participating artists for $4, $5, and $6!  A great way to get them started…

Closing reception tonight for Lay of the Land show. 5:30 – 8:00 at the Visual Arts Gallery.

Photograph of crucifix submerged in urine attacked in French gallery after weeks of protests.

Click here to read the full article.

UIS Student Art show is now on display in the Access Gallery in the VPA building on campus. A reception will be help Thursday, April 14 from 5:30 – 8:00. The show will be on display until April 22.

Ai Weiwei, detained by the Chinese authorities and unreachable since 3 April, has joined a select band of artists who have risked everything for their ideals

Click here for the full story.