A variety of artwork including oil paintings and sculptures will be displayed at the College of Architecture gallery through Nov. 22.
However, this is not a typical art exhibit. Mississippi State students created all of the artwork. The gallery itself was even produced by university students.
Gallery Director Bill Andrews said his gallery management class planned and coordinated the exhibit.
“I wanted them to produce a show that would give them the experience,” Andrews said.
Andrews said his class was responsible for handling all aspects of putting on the exhibit.
“They had to solicit the show by finding who to exhibit, produce and distribute the invitations, coordinate the facility, install the show, handle publicity, prepare for the opening reception and coordinate opening night.”
“We as a class gained a lot of experience just from the responsibilities we had,” said Junior Caroline Crawford.
The class decided to focus on art produced at the university, rather than trying to find one specific artist, Andrews said.
“We wanted students other than those who would show their work in the BFA show to show what they were doing on their own and outside of the class,” Crawford said.
Art instructors were asked to recommend two students to display their work. Andrews said that selecting students this way it opened up the possibility of getting a variety of art, architecture, landscape architecture and interior design students.
“Essentially, anyone who is taking classes in the art department could be chosen,” Andrews said.
Not only does the show contain a variety of students’ work, it also houses a variety of types of artwork. There are student-produced oil paintings, watercolors, photography, graphic design and sculptures displayed at the Giles Hall gallery.
The students selected were allowed to choose what work they submitted in the show. This added to the variety of types of artwork shown.
“I am a photography student, but I really wanted to show my love for ceramics,” senior Josh Hailey said.
There are not many shows each year which feature student artists. The students who were selected for this invitational were proud to participate.
“I love what I do and I work very hard at it,” senior Chris Greer said. “It feels really good to be recognized for that.”
Andrews said that the show was received with critical success.
“People loved it,” he said.
Even the gallery management class was pleased with the outcome of the exhibit.
“I think it turned out better that any of us could have imagined,” Crawford said.
The artwork will be available for viewing until Nov. 22. The College of Architecture Gilles Hall gallery is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The exhibit is open to the public for viewing.
Architecture professors John Poros and Paul Clarke facilitated the exhibit.
“It provides a nice backdrop for the College of Architecture because they have a lot of students in the art department,” Andrews said.
Andrews said there would be another art exhibit in the architecture gallery in the early spring. The show will feature large format Polaroid photographs produced by the faculty and students from the department of art.