Central Washington University - Department of Art: Sarah Spurgeon Gallery

Mon. - Fri. 10 am - 3 pm | Sat. - Sun. 1 - 4 pm. | Closed university holidays
CWU Campus, Randall Hall room 141 on 14th Avenue, 509-963-2665 Gallery admission is free.

Society of Illustrators: An Historical Look at Visual Communication
Opening Reception: Friday, April 3, 5:00 -8:00 p.m. (Ellensburg First Friday Art Walk)

The CWU Sarah Spurgeon Gallery is pleased to host An Historical Look at Visual Communication, a traveling exhibition that includes fifty masterworks from the Society of Illustrators' Museum of American Illustration.

The artworks span the 20th Century, with approximately five illustrations from each decade, and demonstrate the changing role of the illustrator. A range of two-dimensional media are featured including original watercolors, pastels, pen and ink drawings, oil paintings, and prints.

Fifty different artists are represented in the exhibition. Renowned illustrators from past generations include Winslow Homer (1836-1910), James Montgomery Flagg (1877-1960), Harry Beckhoff (1901-1979), and Robert McGinnis (b. 1926). Leading contemporary illustrators include C.F. Payne, Gary Kelley, Brad Holland, Teresa Fasolino, and Mary GrandPre.

Joseph Christian Leyendecker (1874-1951), Good Clothes, oil on board, 18 ½ in. x 25 ½ in.

James Montgomery Flagg (1877-1960), The Champagne Toast, Cosmopolitan Magazine, watercolor, 28 in. x 22 in.

Artist Lecture by Molly Norris: Juror for the 6th Annual Juried Student Art Exhibition
Lecture: Thursday, April 30, 4:00 p.m., Randall Room 117
Sponsored by the Reino and Naomi Randall Lecture Series

Molly Norris received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Cornish College of the Arts and a Master of Fine Arts from Vermont College. She has been on the faculty of Cornish College of the Arts and also taught art at the former Bellevue Art Museum's school. She has exhibited her visual art in galleries, museums and alternative spaces since 1981, and was the Director of Seattle's Gallery 110 from 2006-2008.

Norris is a freelance writer and illustrator whose art reviews and essays have appeared in publications such as Art Access, the Seattle Times, the Tacoma News Tribune, and On Screen. Her cartoon "Everyone's a Critic," runs monthly in City Arts magazine, and her cartoon "A Dog Day in the City" is published regularly in the west coast magazine City Dog. An exhibit of her cartoons opens this July in Seattle. Also a filmmaker, Norris created the documentary short "Looking for Lovelace (2004)," and has been videotaping Seattle band Katharine Hepburn's Voice for the material for her next documentary.

May 5 – 22
Student Art Council: Juried Student Art Exhibition
Awards Ceremony, Friday, May 22, 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.

Annual juried exhibit that is a showcase for the best student artwork created over the course of the academic year. At the awards ceremony, students receive prizes donated by community organizations.

Joe Churchman, Two Bracelets (Whole and Holed), 2008, Neoprene, 5 in. x 5 ¼ in. x 2 ¼ in. Top award winner for the 2008 Juried Student Art Exhibition.

Installation image, Juried Student Art Exhibition, 2008

May 26 – 30
Jessica Pribula: Master of Fine Arts Thesis Exhibition
Reception, Friday, May 29, 6:00-8:00 p.m.

Pribula's knowledge of fiber techniques and processes informs her current body of work. Using dyes on paper along with weaving she creates images inspired by the epitome of femininity: the dress.

June 2 - 7
Alexandra Chaney and Genné Laakso: Master of Fine Arts Thesis Exhibition
Reception, Friday, June 5, 5 - 8:00 p.m. (Ellensburg First Friday Artwalk)

Alexandra Chaney
Inspired by current writings in evolutionary psychology, this body of work symbolically reverses the traditional role of jewelry as determined by sexual selection. By incorporating materials that tend to prompt aversion or by using materials that instead attract non-human species, these necklaces diminish rather than promote courtship success.

Alexandra Chaney, Repel: Fumiphobia, 2008, Cigarettes, gold plated brass, and guitar string, 15 in. x 15 in.

Genné Laakso: Transmogrify
This body of work explores the experience of body manipulation, both public and private, the restriction of movement, the acceptance of discomfort or pain, and the impression on the flesh. Each device is developed by metalsmithing techniques to create pain or discomfort for the wearer and simultaneously forces the body to conform to the design and structure of each piece.

Genné Laakso, Promenading in Elation: Aftermath, 2008, Installation