September
19, 2003
Blanchard
Art Gallery Debuts
| 
Photo: Todd M. LeMieux
Student
Retrospective, the inaugural exhibition in the newly renovated
space, offers a selection of sculpture and works on paper. |
Although not one of
the first things you encounter when entering the newly renovated
campus center, the Blanchard Art Gallery in room 219 is a “high
profile” space, according to John Laprade, manager of Blanchard
and director of student programs. That’s because it’s
located in a heavily trafficked part of the building—directly
across from the student mailboxes—which means that virtually
every Mount Holyoke student can conveniently view the art there.
Laprade, who oversees the gallery, said it will be used primarily
to showcase student and alumnae artwork. The first exhibition,
Student Retrospective, opened on September 10 with a reception
attended by about 200 people.
The show offers a selection of sculpture and works on paper, including
woodcuts, lithographs, etchings, and drawings. Styles and subjects
range from complex abstractions, to Pop-inspired Styrofoam and
plaster sculptures of oversize bottle caps and makeup jars, to
more traditional still lifes, self-portraits, and landscapes.
Some of the pieces shown, including an untitled monoprint by Vanessa
Orilia ’00 and Keiko Mori ’03’s large-scale
arrangement of photogravure prints and polymer plates titled The
First 10 of Infinity, are by winners of the Ruth E. Warfel Art
Prize, which is awarded annually to a graduating studio art major.
Although alumnae created most of the 19 two- and three-dimensional
works in the inaugural exhibition, current MHC student Abigail
Burns ’04 and two former Hampshire College students also
have pieces on display. The show would not have been possible,
Laprade said, without the “ongoing goodwill and efforts”
of Marianne Doezema and Wendy Watson, director and curator, respectively,
of the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum; associate professor of
art Joe Smith; and museum preparator Bob Riddle, who installed
the exhibition.
The new gallery has wood floors and professional-quality lighting,
with both natural light from three southern-facing windows and
a system of overhead track lighting. At approximately 600 square
feet it is larger than the old student art gallery, and, thanks
to movable partitions that will soon be arriving, it will offer
a wider range of installation possibilities.
The current exhibition will continue through at least September
30. Selection of future shows will involve the input of the Student
Art Board, art department faculty, art museum staff, and others.
The
counter is
1,198
|
