Exhibitions allow student-artists to display best work

A series of exhibitions this spring at the Anderson Gallery will showcase the finest work of the students from Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of the Arts.

The Anderson Gallery will host the annual “Student Design Exhibition” concurrently with the “Juried Student Fine Arts Exhibition” from March 31 to April 15. Then, the two-part “Master of Fine Arts Thesis Exhibition” will run from April 21 to April 30 (Round I) and May 5-14 (Round II). Opening receptions for the “Master of Fine Arts Thesis Exhibition” are scheduled for the first day of each round.

The public is invited to attend all the events and exhibitions. Anderson Gallery hours are Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

“These exhibitions provide an excellent opportunity for viewers to invest in up-and-coming artists, as many of the pieces on view will be for sale,” said Amy Moorefield, assistant director and curator of collections for the Anderson Gallery.

The “Student Design Exhibition” features student work selected by the faculty members from the Communication Arts, Graphic Design, Fashion Design and Interior Design departments.

The “Juried Student Fine Arts Exhibition,” which is now in its 35th year, will feature paintings, prints, sculptures, site-specific installations, drawings, crafts, photography and video. Undergraduate students currently enrolled in studio classes in the School of the Arts are allowed to enter up to three pieces of work for consideration.

Heide Trepanier, who received her MFA in 2000 from VCU’s Department of Painting and Printmaking, was the juror for this year’s “Juried Student Fine Arts Exhibition.” Trepanier has received numerous awards and grants and has shown extensively in New York, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

Kathleen Forde, the curator at the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, was the juror for the kinetic imaging portion of the exhibition.

“The Master of Fine Arts Thesis Exhibition” is the final requirement for students earning a master’s degree in the fine arts and design departments at VCU. Each of the participating artists will exhibit work that represents the culmination of their two-year masters program.

For more details on these exhibitions, call the Anderson Gallery at (804) 828-1522 or visit http://www.pubinfo.vcu.edu/artweb/gallery/.