Assistant Professor Emily Newman curated Threads Laid Bare, an exhibition about finding identity and community in Contemporary Textiles and Fiber Arts. She brought together 12 artists from around the country to start conversations about race, immigration, disability, stereotypes, and religious and domestic rituals. This exhibition is supported by the Iowa Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Participating artists include Indira Allegra (California), Anna Carlson (Minnesota), Ann C. Clarke (New York), Nicole Davis (Iowa), Wanda Ewing (Nebraska), Jiseon Lee Isbara (Oregon & California), Guen Montgomery (Illinois), Cynthia O’Hern (Iowa), Katya Oicherman (Minnesota), Catherine Reinhart (Iowa),  Sophia Ruppert (Nebraska), and Alanna Stapleton (Wisconsin).

Due to Covid-19, the Anderson Gallery is only open to Drake cohorts of students, faculty and staff. The Gallery can be open by special appointment by emailing julia.franklin@drake.edu at least 24 hours in advance. To ensure a safe and healthy visit, masks must be worn at all times.

If you can’t visit in person, the exhibition and all programming are accessible and available online. Check out our new cell phone site that allows you to explore this exhibition from anywhere: Virtual Exhibition Experience.

This site gives you an schedule of all virtual events, audio of artists speaking about their works and ways to interact and participate by sharing images of your own creation, playing art games, and crowd-sourcing resources so we can all learn more.

A new online publication features selected works from May 2020 “Vehemence” BFA Exhibition. Click on the link below to view the 20 page catalog that showcases artwork by seniors Marissa Hernandez, Carlye Patterson, Ingrid McNeely, Morgan Stuedemann, Ashley Wildman, Lindsey Andrea and Sarah Ghaussy.

Vehemence Online Catalog

Congratulations to seven seniors in the Department of Art and Design for completing their capstone experience! “Vehemence” is now a virtual exhibition hosted by the Anderson Gallery. Open up Chrome as a browser and click on this link to view a slideshow of their works and statements: Vehemence BFA Exhibition Slideshow

Also, be sure to check postings on the gallery’s Facebook and Instagram pages for spotlights on each student and their art. Wishing Marissa, Ingrid, Carlye, Morgan, Ashley, Sarah and Lindsey all the best on their graduations and beyond!

Dr. Maura Lyons’ Material World of Art class recently had an online discussion with Courtney Murray, objects conservator at the Midwest Art Conservation Center in Minneapolis. They discussed her condition survey of the James Rosati sculpture that sits outside the Fine Arts Center (FAC), and students also had the chance to ask about the field of art conservation.

During her past visit to Drake, she opened a window on the surface of the sculpture that shows several layers of paint that have been applied to the piece over time. This information will help in determining the proper color if and when the sculpture is repainted as part of its conservation.

Florence Cowles Kruidenier presented the Untitled Rosati sculpture as a gift to Drake University in memory of her late husband David S. Kruidenier, Sr. who received his PH.B. in 1906 and LL.B. in 1909 from the University. Mr. Kruidenier was a long-time member and officer of the Drake Board of Trustees, former CEO of the Des Moines Register and Tribune, and visual and performing arts supporter.

This spring, Angela Battle’s Pushing Paint class has been working on a new project, “The Hybrids” (see link at bottom to see all images). Students collaged black and white pictures of animals and combined them into hybrid forms. Then, they interpreted their hybrids into colorful acrylic paintings on paper and added unexpected landscapes. 

Before they began, the class had a workshop to explore a variety of ways to create active, colorful, atmospheric backgrounds. The project had just started when classes were moved to a virtual experience, and students have worked at home to complete them. 

Take a look at each student’s solution to this creative project! Click on the link below to access the project and then click to advance the images:

The Hybrids: New Works from the Pushing Paint Project

The Anderson Gallery sent our first newsletter to update our valued community and share inspiring information. Please subscribe to receive monthly emails during the academic year. Check it out here: The Anderson Gallery Is Now Online!

Update: Professor Angela Battle is supervising painting student, Marissa Hernandez, during the creation of a mural for her senior exhibition. Marissa is a local emerging artist and an example of someone who has diligently kept working over Spring Break and during the Covid-19 quarantine to fully realize ideas and projects.

Marissa Hernandez has been steadily at work on the development on a mural for her senior exhibition. Professor Angela Battle remarks that Marissa is a good example of how students continue to work and create despite school breaks and the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Anderson Gallery will be updating our social media accounts regularly for a wider reach.  We have posted a 360 degree virtual tour of our current show, “The 49th Annual Juried Student Exhibition,” and we are highlighting award winners and spotlighting student works. Follow us now on Facebook @Anderson Gallery, Drake University and on Instagram @theanderson_drake.

To support the health and safety of our visitors and staff, The Anderson Gallery will close today at 4pm. We will remain closed from Saturday, March 14 – May 2020. Thanks for understanding, and be sure to check out our social media posts which will feature works from the current exhibition, “The 49th Annual Juried Student Exhibition.”  Virtual tours and student spotlights will be featured on Facebook @Anderson Gallery, Drake University and on Instagram @theanderson_drake.

Join us on Sunday, March 8, 2020, from 1-3pm for the opening reception of the “49th Annual Juried Student Exhibition.”  Rachel Merrill, juror and 2019 Iowa Artist Fellow, selected 43 pieces from 95 submissions. Ten works will receive awards, and they will be announced at 2pm. Refreshments will be served and the event is free and open to the public. The exhibition runs through Sunday, April 12, 2020. Please note the gallery will be closed during Spring Break from March 14-21, 2020. All are welcome, and we encourage everyone in the Drake and Greater Des Moines communities to visit to support these emerging artists.

• Kara Andreski, Cali Coast
• Kara Andreski, Eve
• Samantha Barnes, Slopes
• Caroline Bushman, God of Earth
• Caroline Bushman, Arms
• Caroline Bushman, The Stages of Grief
• Hannah Cohen, The Lizard King’s 3Ws
• Hannah Cohen, Famous Last Words
• Carissa Dannen, Glitch
• Nick Ellis & Kate Segler, Drake Magazine Winter 2020
• Amy Flieder, Untitled
• Caylee Gallagher, Dento-teki Businesswoman
• Sarah Ghaussy, Fabric of Our Life
• Marissa Hernandez, Abuelita Teya
• Marissa Hernandez, Climate
• Marissa Hernandez, Untitled
• Kendall Hunt, Stygian Dark
• Madison Kelly, Drake Magazine
• Madison Kelly, Mercury
• Alison Kuttler, Metamorphosis
• Chloe Laizure, Bug
• Chloe Laizure, Beats
• Chloe Laizure, Summer in the City
• Courtney McCuddin, Something Fishy
• Ingrid McNeely, Omelas
• Ingrid McNeely, Comrade Bee
• Ingrid McNeely, Final Breath
• Ingrid McNeely, Time-lapse of Okjökull
• Anh Nguyen, Innocent
• Bryan Ortiz, Feminist Machine
• Bryan Ortiz, West Coast Experience
• Carlye Patterson, Lilhanlye
• Carlye Patterson, Patterson
• Carlye Patterson, Autumn
• Steven Peralta Cornejo, Callous
• Steven Peralta Cornejo, Crevice
• Molly Ruder, Winter Sunrise
• Kate Segler, Map to Oblivion
• Amelia Sims, Odyssey
• Morgan Stuedemann, George
• Liza Vinyon, Electric Feel
• Madison Wiley, 100 Years of Design
• Anna Zimney, Cobblestone

THANK YOU FOR PARTICIPATING! WORKS NOT ACCEPTED MAY BE PICKED UP TUESDAY & WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25 -26 FROM NOON-4PM.

OPENING RECEPTION: Sunday, March 8 from 1-3pm. Awards will be presented at 2pm.

JUROR’S STATEMENT:

It was an honor to juror the 2020 Student Exhibition at Drake University. Thank you for allowing me to participate in your progress, both in your exploration of mediums and concepts. The concepts and techniques in this exhibition embody strong voices of experimentation and perspective pertinent to the larger conversation of art and culture. Congratulations to those who were selected as your work shows breadth and ambition.

You are artists and designers in the NOW and your voice is important to the contemporary conversation of art making.  I commend ALL who entered. It takes courage to be an artist; not only to make work, but also to show it. Putting your work, as an extension of yourself, out to be critiqued is hard.  I applaud all those who took that risk. Continue to try and try again in your artistic practice. Continue.

Rachel Merrill, 2019 Iowa Artist Fellow & Associate Professor of Art & Design at Grand View University

STATS: 95 pieces entered by 37 students; 43 pieces accepted with 10 selected for awards