Studio Art majors Austin Gifford ’11 and Anna Sharpe ’11 premiered their senior Independent Study exhibitions at Wooster’s Ebert Art Center last Sunday. Gifford showcased his ceramic sculptures while Sharpe displayed her paintings.
Gifford’s exhibition, entitled “Sacred and Profane,” explores the “inner turmoil” of human nature. The artist’s ceramic pieces combine religious imagery with the headless human form. Gifford’s ceramics also incorporate food, animal and religious symbols. Gifford arranges the ceramics from “front (south) to back (north)” as a means to reflect the human form.
Be prepared to examine abstractions of the human figure. At the south end of the gallery, sculptures of human and animal heads emerge from feet.
As you approach the north end, you will notice two stone structures with disfigured human bodies coming from the centers, one with its head placed in the location of his abdomen and another holding its decapitated head.
A ceramic head with wolves coming out of the mouth is positioned at the north end of the room. Gifford explained that the exhibit derives inspiration and symbolism from the “western religious art of late medieval ages and early renaissance, with the subject matter’s lack of concern for rational proportions and bright primary colors.”
He hopes that the work “[is] understandable at first glance but [has] deeper meaning later.” The exhibit as a whole proves to be an engaging reflection on the struggle and conflict inherent to human nature.
Sharpe’s abstract paintings in “Combined Realities: Dreams Informing Life; Reality as Seen through Dreams” explore the phenomenon of dreaming. She stated that she intended for the pieces to be “bizarre in nature” to reflect the uncertainty of her dreams. Her pieces, painted on thin sheets, combine seemingly simple figures with abstract lines and symbols. Many paintings contain a human shape. One particularly intriguing piece depicts a human figure against the backdrop of a cloudy sky, with the canvas ripped and torn. Many of the paintings evoke the experience of nightmares, including one painting of a domineering face on a black sheet.
The sheet extends from the wall, capturing the observer. Another painting reveals a human face with red paint splattering across the location of its eyes. The moody colors draw attention to the artist’s technique. Sharpe’s use of mixed media is one of the most interesting aspects of her work. For instance, she creates human faces with hair made of string.
Another painting begins at the bottom of the wall and draws down to the floor covered in spider figurines. Sharpe’s techniques effectively convey her declared purpose of allowing viewers to “give their dreams greater consideration when contemplating life as a whole.” By making dream-like aspects three dimensional, Sharpe’s work blurs the line between the real and the imaginary. Sharpe’s work is a haunting exploration of the impact of dreams on life.
The exhibits can be viewed at Ebert Art Center throughout the week. Hours are 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Monday through Friday and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. More senior exhibits will be brought to the museum in the near future.