Art Gallery spotlights BFA students' talent in exhibition
Twenty-three students in the Bachelor of Fine Arts program at University of Houston-Clear Lake will be displaying their work in the annual Bachelor of Fine Arts Exhibition, opening April 6 at 4 p.m. in the Art Gallery, located in the Bayou Building.
“It’s more than just creating the art,” said Assistant Professor of Art and Design Clay Leonard. “It’s about the entire process of being prepared and mentored through actually installing the work in the gallery.”
He said that students would play a central role in curating the show. “From the start, we try to encourage students to think about a body of work with a common theme,” he explained. “When they graduate, they will have had a comprehensive experience in which they learned to plan, prepare, hang or install their art. They learn how to approach a gallery, how to think about their work in a gallery space, and in the end, bask in the success and the culmination of work.”
Leonard said that means feeling a sense of satisfaction of what can come out of a lot of thought and hard work, and also being supportive of the work of others whose work is also featured in the exhibition.
“The show is juried by faculty in order to continue their involvement in students’ work,” he said. “The show is a continuation of the conversations that students and faculty are already having in class. Each student who plans to be in the exhibition chooses a mentor, either in their discipline or outside, who will prepare and coach them for what work should go in. This is not about trying to figure out what the jurors will like—this is something that’s been refined and supports the development of the students over time.”
The exhibition runs through April 28. For more information about UHCL’s Art Gallery and exhibitions, go online.