A Solid Foundation

Katie Betz, betzka@mnstate.edu

Faculty art gives art students inspiration this month at the art gallery.

The faculty exhibition “Solid Ground” is on display now until Nov. 1 in MSUM’s Center for the Arts. Two art students gave their thoughts on the exhibit.

Logan Austin, 21, from East Grand Forks, Minnesota is a drawing and illustration major who works as a gallery monitor.

“The professors here all are really excited to share the work that they do outside of doing stuff on campus, so it’s a really great way to introduce their work,” said Austin. “It’s also a great way to [raise money]. All the ones on the wall over there are meant to be sold. So, I know that’s a great way to get more funding for donations [and] for scholarships.”

The gallery features a wall covered in artwork from faculty to fundraise for the Timothy Ray Memorial Endowed Art Scholarship and the Carl Oltvedt Juried Student Art Award Endowment.

Austin has his favorite pieces among the artwork hanging on the walls. The fact that he knows some of the professors personally makes their artwork more interesting.

“To be honest, a lot of it has to do with [the fact] that I’ve had experiences with those professors. I know them personally so it’s more interesting to me to see what kind of work someone who is instructing you does,” Austin said. “You don’t always get to see that … but this is a really fun show to see what they’re actually working on outside of what they talk about in class.”

Austin’s favorite piece of art is Dr. Zhimin Guan’s “Snowscape” painting, because of its color contrast and naturalistic view.

Tayla Sassing is also a gallery monitor, and she is a sophomore art education major at MSUM. She also enjoys Guan’s paintings, as well as a painting called “A Year in Review,” which is of a dumpster on fire in front of a building. The painting is by Jescia Hopper.

Sassing is interested in recreating a sculpture in the show called “Chest of Hope” by Anna Haglin. The piece consists of a wooden chest covered in prickly-looking chestnuts.

“It’s interesting how it’s this really intimidating outside, but you want to know what’s inside,” Sassing said.

“Solid Ground” features art from a variety of mediums, including sculptures, paintings, drawings and ceramics.

Wendy Fuglestad, gallery director, believes that the title of the exhibit is related to the effect faculty has on students.

“The faculty members are providing a solid foundation for all of our graduates,” Fuglestad said.

The next two exhibits will feature the work of Bachelor of Fine Arts graduates. The exhibits will feature graphic design, paintings, drawings and sculptures.

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