2 minute read
Staniar Gallery
Staniar G allery
LEIGH ANN BEAVERS: RECONCILIATION
Studio, Raphine, Virginia; photo documentation; 2020
Links to the Zoom artists’ talks and virtual gallery tours can be found at https://my.wlu.edu/staniar-gallery/current-season/leigh-ann-beavers
In her post-sabbatical exhibition, W&L art professor Leigh Ann Beavers will present recent work from her mixed-media project that is a creative expression of reconciliation ecology, a branch of conservation biology seeking to preserve biodiversity in the midst of human development. Stemming from an urgent, personal imperative to recognize each individual species in her immediate environment, Beavers’ drawings, prints, collages and installations draw attention to the myriad forms of life on the edges of our backyards, fields and roadsides. In her statement, she notes: “We are but one of 8.7 million species sharing this planet. As many conservationists have pointed out, no one will work to save what doesn’t have a name, what they don’t know exists.” Beavers teaches drawing and printmaking at W&L. She holds her MFA from University of Wisconsin Madision. She spent portions of the past eight summers in residence on Aughinish Island in Ireland working on this project, which has been exhibited at Courthouse Gallery (Kinvara, Ireland); Roanoke College (Salem, Virginia); and Winthrop University (Rock Hill, South Carolina).
Staniar G allery
WILLIAM RANSOM: SOLASTALGIA: ON HOLD
failure cascade, detail; 2019; basswood, poplar, clamp; 62 x 9 x 116 inches
Links to the Zoom artists’ talks and virtual gallery tours can be found at https://my.wlu.edu/staniar-gallery/current-season/william-ransom
This exhibition, featuring new work by William Ransom and collaborative work made with W&L sculpture students, explores the sense of distress and uncertainty resulting from environmental change and degradation. Based on the premise that the solace of a known landscape or a familiar view can be lost if the underlying foundation of the natural rhythms sustaining it is disrupted, this project considers the existential unease resulting from the disruption of natural order. Ransom was born and raised on a dairy farm in Vermont, and his work and life continue to be informed by his early material experiences and engagement with the cycles and rhythms at the intersection with the natural world. Ransom received an MFA in sculpture from Claremont Graduate University in 2008 and a BA from Bennington College in 2004. He currently teaches sculpture at Marlboro College in Vermont.
Staniar G allery
2021 SENIOR THESES EXHIBITION
Exhibition: March 29–April 9, 2021
Selections from the 2020 Senior Theses Exhibition Links to the Zoom artists’ talks and virtual gallery tours can be found at https://my.wlu.edu/staniar-gallery/current-season/senior-theses
Each year, the graduating seniors in studio art exhibit their senior theses projects in Staniar Gallery. An opportunity for these young artists to show their most advanced and inventive work in a gallery setting, the exhibition is a debut into the professional art world and an occasion for sharing their talent and achievements with the community. The group show includes a wide range of artworks in different media including painting, drawing, printmaking, photography and sculpture.
