Convergence

March 1-June 8, 2003

Made up of recent work by five women artists, the impetus for the Convergence exhibit took place at a Southeastern College Art Conference (SECAC). The artists of the exhibit have for 20 years been colleagues and friends. In this collaboration, they offer a wide variety of recent paintings and sculpture which explore the themes of personal narrative and transition, the use of metaphor, and the handling of materials with evidence of the artist’s hands.

Von Allen, Associate Professor at Brigham Young University and Area Head of 3-D studies, uses transition as a theme for much of her sculpture. She frequently uses broken forms to express heroism through toil. She recently exhibited with Utah Artists, an exhibit in conjunction with the 2002 Winter Olympic Games.

Virginia Scotchie, Associate Professor and Head of Ceramics at the University of South Carolina, explores emotional and psychological themes in her ceramic work. She frequently juxtaposes surface qualities in her work such as polished metal and a rough faux rust finish. Her work was the subject of a recent traveling exhibit, Domestic Abstractions, which traveled to museums and galleries throughout the country during 2000 and 2001.

Virginia Derryberry, Associate Professor of Art, Painting and Drawing, at the University of North Carolina at Asheville also deals with the theme of transition in her work. Derryberry’s lush, thickly applied oil paintings use the symbols of natural disaster to communicate her ideas of change, restoration, and purification. Her work has been the subject of recent exhibits at the Clayton Galleries in Tampa, Florida and the Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass.

Alison Helm, Professor of Art at West Virginia University, also references nature in her sculpture. Using many geometrical shapes and adhering to formal design principals, Helm’s work explores life events with a spiritual slant. She has most recently completed a commission of two large outdoor steel sculptures for the Peoples Hospice Memorial Garden in Clarksburg, West Virginia.

Reni Gower, Associate Professor in the Department of Painting and Printmaking at Virginia Commonwealth University, uses a variety of media to explore society’s complexity. She frequently borders elements of decorative arts with technological symbols such as binary code. She has recently been a part of the International Miniature Invitational, held in Artspace Gallery in Richmond, Virginia.