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UB Art Gallery to host installations of work by UB artists
By KRISTIN E.M. RIEMER
Reporter Contributor
A reception opening the installations of Master of Fine Arts candidates Jay Ariaz, Wanyen Chou, Rachael Hetzel and Kate S. Parzych will be held from 5-8 p.m. April 21 in the second-floor gallery of the UB Art Gallery in the Center for the Arts, North Campus.
Jay Ariaz, "813 Cleveland Ave., 1.8 miles" (from "A Spectacular Fall"), color photograph, 2005
The exhibition, which will be free and open to the public, will be on view through May 7.
"It is our mission to present exhibitions of cutting-edge contemporary art," says Sandra H. Olsen, director of UB Art Galleries, "and what could be more cutting-edge than the work of emerging artists whose training has required them to continually push boundaries? I look forward to welcoming the community to see the work of these intriguing artists."
Wanyen Chou, "Reading," 2004, mixed media
Niagara Falls is one of this region's most photographed landmarks. Despite this, Ariaz, who holds a B.F.A. from the Kansas City Art Institute, pursued the idea that a fresh perspective for photographing the wonder remained for his taking. By documenting hand-painted murals of Niagara Falls located within the community, he grasps more than the power and beauty of the flowing water. His photographic installation, "A Spectacular Fall," reveals an urban and cultural landscape that exists in contrast to the tourist attraction, thus communicating a previously untold story of deterioration and loss.
Rachael Hetzel, "try," 2005, digital image
Chou's installation, "Dream," uses her experiences as an Asian student living in an American city to explore the difficulties caused by drastic changes in environment as one moves from one culture to another. A native of Taipei, Taiwan, she uses her work to reveal her own sense of isolation, confusion and loss of identity brought on by language barriers and new cultural practices, and seeks to challenge viewers to imagine themselves in similar circumstances. Chou received her bachelor's degree from the National Hualien Teacher's College in Hualien, Taiwan.
Hetzel's installation of large-scale screen-prints and books focuses on issues of gendered roles within the family structure and the fluidity of memory. Through her screen-prints, she seeks to relate the causes of oppression within the family structure and disclose hidden ways in which women exert power within their families. Hetzel received her B.F.A. in printmaking from Brockport State College in 2003.
Kate S. Parzych, "Don't Tape Things to the Wall," 2004, hand-embroidered tie
Western New York native Parzych holds a B.F.A. in photography from UB. Using the photographic image as a starting point for books and installations that explore how family relationships are constructed in adult memories, she represents an individual's own concept of childhood and play. Her installation, "Don't Tape Things to the Walls," begins with a display of vintage clip-on ties—hand-embroidered with stern parental commands—then leads the viewer to subtly participate in the subversion of these mandates.
The UB Art Gallery is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. For more information, call 645-6912.