Faculty Exhibition opens in Nightingale Gallery Jan. 11

A collective view of creative endeavors of EOU’s art faculty

Contact: Cory Peeke | Nightingale Gallery Director
541-962-3584 | cpeeke@eou.edu

December 21, 2012
LA GRANDE, Ore. (EOU) – The Nightingale Gallery at EOU begins a new year and academic term with an exhibition by six accomplished visual arts faculty.

The biennial Faculty Exhibition opens with a reception Friday, Jan. 11 from 6-8 p.m. in the gallery located in Loso Hall. The show will run through Feb. 1 and gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Nationally and internationally recognized artists with works on display are Doug Kaigler, professor of sculpture, Cory Peeke, associate professor and director of the Nightingale Gallery, Jessica Plattner, associate professor of painting, Susan Murrell, assistant professor of printmaking, Michael Sell, assistant professor of photography, and Jess Riva Cooper, visiting assistant professor of ceramics.

“Just as we six artists have come together to create a vibrant art program at EOU, we have worked together to create a dynamic exhibition which explores the individual talents of each, as well as the collaborative nature inherent in our close knit program,” said Peeke, speaking as gallery director.

The exhibition offers a collective view of the art faculties’ recent creative endeavors. Integration of each artist’s body of work into the communal space of Nightingale Gallery allows viewers to explore visual relationships among them, as well as consider the newest trends in the work of some of this area’s most dynamic and respected artists.

Kaigler will present some of his recent sculptural works, which both feature and explore the elemental materials of wood, stone and water.

Peeke and Plattner will each present their most recent collage pieces.  Peeke’s work feature found vintage photography, which through the process of collage, combines with other elements to become something both fresh and familiar.

Plattner’s collages depict her infant daughter in a variety of surreal settings and act as a meditation on the magical possibilities of childhood.

Murrell will exhibit a selection of prints made during her summer residency at the Crow Shadow Institute.

The photographic portraits that Sell has on view are part of his larger investigation into fictional and real selves, and how the Internet enables users to fictionalize themselves in a public manner.

Cooper, who is filling in for Peter Johnson while he is on sabbatical, will present a selection of her newest ceramic sculpture inspired by the literature of Yiddish folklore, science fiction and magical realism.

For more on the individual artists and their work, visit www.eou.edu/art/faculty.

In conjunction with the exhibit, the artists will also present a gallery talk about their work on Thursday, Jan. 24 from 5-7 p.m. in Nightingale Gallery. The talk is free and open to the public.

For more information, see www.eou.edu/art/nightingale-gallery or connect with Nightingale on Facebook.