Student Art Featured at UW Art Museum Spring Opening Reception Feb. 22

The University of Wyoming Art Museum will feature the 44th annual Juried UW Student Exhibition during a free reception to celebrate the exhibitions for the spring semester Friday, Feb. 22.

The opening reception is from 6-8 p.m., with the student awards ceremony beginning at 6:30 p.m.

The 44th annual Juried UW Student Exhibition is open to any student enrolled at UW during the current academic year, regardless of area of study. This includes any in-state student enrolled through UW distance courses. The exhibition is on view through May 18.

The student exhibition is juried each year by an out-of-state juror. This year’s exhibition was selected by Louise Martorano, executive director of the RedLine Contemporary Art Center in Denver, who reviewed 200 submissions by UW students. A number of purchase and cash awards will be announced at 6:30 p.m. during the Feb. 22 reception.

“The annual student exhibition is a highlight of the UW Art Museum’s program,” says Marianne Eileen Wardle, director of the UW Art Museum. “The quality of the submissions is consistently high, and purchases of student artwork by university departments have enriched our campus. The show provides incredible insight into the critical questions and issues confronting young emerging artists, and gives many students their first professional experience.”

“The Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection: Fifty Works for Wyoming” features the UW Art Museum’s collection of works from the Dorothy and Herbert Vogel national gift program, “Fifty Works for Fifty States.” Works included are representations of the Vogels’ interest in minimalist, conceptualist and post-1960s art. This is the first time this collection has been shown in its entirety at the UW Art Museum; a selection was exhibited in 2011. The exhibition is on view through March 21, 2020.

“Deborah Willis: Reflections on Civil War” is a new video presentation directed and conceived by Deborah Willis, a professor at Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. In the film, the lyrics to “Civil War,” a song performed by folk singer Joan Baez, are expressed through the act of a waltz. The dance is choreographed by dancer Djassi Johnson, and the film presents a performance by Johnson and Kevin Boseman, dressed in 19th century costume. The presentation is on view Feb. 16-July 20.

“Tashi Norbu: Tibetan Live Painting Performance” presents a large mural created in a short time span, as a type of performance art, by Tibetan-born artist Tashi Norbu. The mural is on display through July 27 in the UW Art Museum’s Rotunda Gallery.

“Sharon Louden: ‘Windows’ at the University of Wyoming Art Museum” presents a suspended, temporary custom, site-specific sculpture using highly reflective, curved aluminum sheets in the UW Art Museum’s entrance hall. The installation is on view through August 2020.

“Indigenous Mapping: Collecting Truths” illustrates 14 indigenous artists’ notions of “home” through various printmaking techniques. Each artist shares a different perspective that reflects his or her widely varied home communities. Artist Melanie Yazzie, who organized the exhibition, has donated the entire portfolio to the UW Art Museum. The artworks will become part of the museum’s permanent collection for use in future exhibitions, research and teaching. The exhibition is on view through March 23.

“The Floating World: Printmaking Techniques in Japanese Ukiyo-e” explores printmaking processes in Japan during the Edo period (1603-1868). Featured are Japanese prints from every major era of Japanese printmaking. The exhibition includes works by accomplished artists such as Hishikawa Moronobu, Kitagawa Utamaro I, Hokusai and Utagawa Kunisada I. The exhibition is on view through March 23.

The Pat Guthrie Teaching Gallery Exhibition is on view through May 18. The teaching gallery model integrates original art into UW coursework curriculum and presents exhibitions available to students and the public throughout the semester. Working closely with faculty, courses this semester are: “Honors 4151 Special Topics: We Are What We Eat”; “Classics/English 4270: Classical Epic Poetry”; “Honors 4151 Special Topics: Stealing Culture: The Intersection of Art & Law”; and “Latina/o Studies 1101 First-Year Seminar: Latina/o Popular Culture.”

For more information, call the UW Art Museum at (307) 766-6622, visit the website at www.uwyo.edu/artmuseum, or follow the museum on Facebook and Instagram.

Through its “Museum as Classroom” approach, the UW Art Museum places art at the center of learning for all ages. Located in the Centennial Complex at 2111 E. Willett Drive in Laramie, the museum is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday hours are extended to 7 p.m. Admission is free.