The University of Mary Washington Galleries will host two exhibitions, “Part of a Bigger Picture: Michael Wsol” from Friday, January 14 through Friday, January 28 at the duPont Gallery, and “Shades of Gray: Drawings in Graphite” from Friday, January 21 through Friday, February 25 at the Ridderhof Martin Gallery.
Michael Wsol, the “Part of a Bigger Picture” exhibition artist, will give a gallery talk Thursday, January 13 from 4 to 5 p.m. followed by an opening reception with refreshments from 5 to 7 p.m.
The opening reception with refreshments for “Shades of Gray” will be held Thursday, January 20 from 5 to 7 p.m. On Sunday, February 6, at 2 p.m., Joann Moser, senior curator of graphic arts at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, will present the gallery talk “Why Draw?” at the Ridderhof Martin Gallery. The lecture will open the UMW Galleries 2011 Spring Lecture Series. Advance registration for the talk is required.
Admission is free to the talks, receptions and exhibitions.
Michael Wsol creates artworks inspired by the structural, social and economic systems that have been developed to create and support contemporary culture. His works simplify infrastructural and cultural systems into studies of their specific functions and potential adaptations.
Wsol teaches three-dimensional studies at Georgia State University. He has exhibited in New York, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Chicago, Miami and other cities. He has work in numerous private collections. Wsol earned a master of architecture from the University of Virginia, a master of fine arts in sculpture from the University of Georgia and a master of arts and a bachelor of arts in sculpture from Eastern Illinois University.
“Shades of Gray” presents the work of seven artists from Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio and Washington, D.C. while exploring a variety of ways that contemporary artists use graphite. The artists featured are Lea Anderson, Matthew Ballou, Gianluca Bianchino, Elaine Kaufmann, Darice Polo, Lana Stephens and Christine Weir.
In the past, graphite was relegated to use as a medium for preparatory studies later reworked into more finished work in other media. But due to a renewed interest in drawing among contemporary artists, it is no longer only a means to an end. As seen in this exhibition, the use of graphite provides a surprisingly common ground for the realization of each artist’s vision despite such diverse inspiration sources as architecture, contradiction, filtered memories, irony, isolation, obsession, phobias, scale, scientific inquiry and social consciousness.
Both galleries are located on College Avenue on the Fredericksburg campus and are open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. The galleries are closed during university holidays and breaks. Free parking for gallery visitors is designated in the lot on College Avenue at Thornton Street. For directions and more information, call (540) 654-1013 or visit www.galleries.umw.edu.