Mississippi State University’s Cullis Wade Depot Art Gallery will feature an exhibit by Liz Miller from now until March 31.
The exhibit, which opened to the public on Jan. 20, is named ‘Mereticious Restraint’ and features installation artwork on a large scale. Installation artwork consists of three-dimensional works made from a range of materials and, in some cases, including ‘Mereticious Restraint,’ can be much larger than the typical styles of art students may be more used to viewing.
The size and uniqueness of installation artwork and this exhibition in particular can sometimes surprise students, including freshman kinesiology major C.J. Knight.
“I was kind of puzzled at first because I didn’t understand what it was going to be,” Knight said, “and you have to kind of use your imagination to see what it is but I like it.”
Other students, including sophomore art student Joseph MacGown, were more familiar with installation artwork and excited to view an exhibit like ‘Mereticious Restraint’ in person.
“I really enjoyed walking around and looking at it,” MacGowan said. “I am actually interested in doing installation art myself so I am enjoying having the opportunity to experience this exhibit and talk to the artist.”
Brennan Crosby, a senior studying photography, said he also enjoyed viewing a different kind of art that he was used to seeing in local art galleries.
“I like the exhibit, it has a really large presence. I am an art student and it’s way different than the types of exhibits local galleries usually have. It is interesting to see an exhibit that really fills up the area,” Crosby said.
While Miller’s artwork fills the space as visitors walk around and through the exbibit, she did not begin making art the style and scale of ‘Mereticious Restraint.’
“I started out in art doing drawing and painting,” Miller said. “I studied both of those in college. Then I started doing collages, which sort of evolved into doing more three-dimensional art. From when I did my first installation project I have loved the integration of different materials, the use of space, and the fact that the art is not finished until the exhibit is installed. All of that is really exciting for me.”
‘Mereticious Restraint’ features a variety of diverse symbolism, specifically symbols of nature set against symbols of industrial weaponry. Some of these symbols will be clear to most visitors to the gallery while other symbols require a deeper look.
“All of my work has a hybrid quality with natural and synthetic aspects coming together to create what I call elaborate fictions,” Miller said. “In some portions weapon imagery transforms into something more organic in appearance. Most of the greenery in this piece was inspired by the suicide trees in India while some portions just kind of happened to come together. I love the idea that the work can elicit a feeling without the piece being a specific thing.”
Those who would like to view ‘Mereticious Restraint’ can view the piece by visiting the Cullis Wade gallery on the second floor of the Cullis Wade Depot during the gallery’s normal hours between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Those who viewed the installation on opening night at the gallery, look on and interact with the floor to ceiling installation.
