Fine Arts Center Gallery Presents 'Life Still' Exhibition

Courtesy of the artist and M and B Gallery, Los Angeles

Summer Still Life with Lobsters and Fern

The Fine Arts Center Gallery in the School of Art in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences is pleased to present 'Life Still' exhibition, featuring eight multimedia artists with diverse backgrounds.

Life Still is open and will be on display through Dec. 3. All are invited to attend the opening reception from 5-7 this Thursday, Oct. 28. The reception and exhibition are free and open to the public.

The exhibition highlights narratives associated with slow looking, solitude and the influence of self-isolation during a global pandemic. The selected artists come from backgrounds and underscore a collection of perspectives giving voice to aspects of life that typically occur in private, as well as in and around the home.

"The School of Art is thrilled to have Life Still at the Fine Arts Center Gallery, especially since the exhibition focuses on aspects of solitude, ways individuals connect with their surroundings and the domestic. By looking at the pandemic through the lenses of artists and their interests, we are reminded how the human spirit always seems to find a way to overcome, " said Marc Mitchell, associate professor of art and Fine Arts Center Gallery director and curator. "While the exhibition may seem solemn, it's actually a celebration of our connection to the world around us."

Life Still features the work of Lynn Gomez, Daniel Gordon, Josephine Halvorson, Letitia Huckaby, Sedrick Huckaby, Ellsworth Kelly, Carrie Schneider and Lorna Simpson. Their work celebrates unique ownership of solitude and domesticity while also emphasizes the impact of social and cultural norms.

Artist Josephine Halvorson is a featured speaker in the School of Art Lecture Series and will share her work with the school and community virtually on Thursday, Nov. 4 at 5:30 p.m.

Halvorson holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from The Cooper Union and a Master of Fine Arts from Columbia University. She is the recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship to Vienna, a Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Grant and was a fellow at the French Academy in Rome.

During Fall 2019, Halvorson's work was on view at The Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston as part of The James and Audrey Foster Prize Exhibition, curated by Ruth Erickson. She was selected to be the first artist-in-residence at the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Her residency will culminate in a solo exhibition in 2021 as part of the Museum's Contemporary Voices series.

Halvorson's paintings featured in Life Still document specific sites found on hikes around her home in western Massachusetts. These artworks were often created from observation and utilizing debris from the site and became monuments to overlooked scenes in the landscape.

Experience Halvorson's and the other artists in Life Still at the Fine Arts Gallery through Dec. 3 and celebrate the opening this Thursday, Oct. 28.

To hear directly from Halvorson join the School of Art Lecture Series, Thursday, Nov. 4 at 5:30 p.m.

Gallery Hours:

• Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 to 5 p.m.