May. 31, 2017
CWU Art and Chemistry Student Presents Solo Art Exhibit: Showing through Friday
Graduating senior Tarra Hall-Ward is showing her artwork in the solo exhibition Entwined: Art and Chemistry, on display now through Friday, May 12, in Gallery 231 located in Randall Hall at Central Washington University.
Hall-Ward is a double major in fine art and chemistry, and uses oil paint and mixed media drawing to explore visual interpretations of chemical concepts and theories.
The left-- and right-brained artist uses her passion for art and curiosity for chemistry to create vibrant works of art.
“Most of the concepts for these pieces I would not have had the ideas for had I not taken these (chemistry) classes,” Hall-Ward said. “To capture the beauty in the fundamental, to take formalized concepts and abstract them with the artistic lens, to connect two fields I find absolutely captivating, is what drives my passion.”
Her abstract series Entwined is a body of paintings and drawings responding to theories studied in chemistry. This exhibition focuses primarily on pigments and general chemical theories through the abstraction of molecular structures, nature, textures, and colors.
Hall-Ward attended Big Bend Community College, where she obtained her Associate’s in Art and Science. She will graduate this spring with both a Bachelor of Fine Art in drawing and painting and a Bachelor of Science in chemistry.
Entwined is her second solo exhibition.
Hall-Ward was selected by faculty nomination for the Ronald E. McNair Scholars program and received funding from McNair for the research and development of her first solo exhibit Convergence. This provided the foundation for her artwork today.
She is also a part of the TRiO Student Support Service program and an alumna of the Phi Theta Kappa two-year honor society.
Hall-Ward is currently applying to graduate schools, searching for programs that will allow her to continue her education in art and chemistry. While she hopes to become a professor she is also exploring a future in art conservation.
“The real middle ground in art and chemistry is maintaining paintings and drawings,” Hall-Ward said.
And just like a scientist, Hall-Ward said that she still has a lot more research to do before she determines her next steps.
Admittance to Gallery 231 is free and open to the public daily from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Media contact: Dawn Alford, public affairs coordinator, 509-963-1484, Dawn.Alford@cwu.edu.