The Truman State University Art Gallery is committed to the belief that art matters. It changes lives, documents and reflects our experiences, and shows us worlds and perspectives other than our own. We also believe that the liberal arts and sciences matter. Knowledge does not exist in isolation; particularly in the information age, it is interconnected, is created, developed, and maintained communally, and is changeable over time and across cultures.
Each year, the University Art Gallery hosts exhibitions of faculty and student art, art historical exhibitions, and exhibitions of regional contemporary art.
2021-2022 University Art Gallery Schedule
Fall 2021
August 31 – October 8
New Work by Truman State Art Faculty – Russell Nelson, Matthew Derezinski, and Aaron Fine – Main Gallery
Professor of graphic design Russell Nelson, professor of graphic design Matthew Derezinski, and professor of art Aaron Fine will show their recent work in this fall’s faculty exhibition.
Recording Place – Marcie Miller Gross – Charlyn Gallery
Marcie Miller Gross’ exhibition Recording Place invites viewers to contemplate their experiences of space and temporality. The works contrast photographs that show fleeting and momentary impressions of landscape with sculptures that allow a prolonged and even atemporal engagement with the spatial and conceptual nature of sites. Gross lives and works in Kansas City where she is represented by Haw Contemporary. Recording Place is sponsored by Missouri Art Council.
Opening reception
Tuesday, August 31, 5:00-6:30 p.m.
Artist talk with Marcie Miller Gross
Thursday, September 16, 4:30-5:30 p.m., University Art Gallery and virtual
Virtual artist talk with Aaron Fine and Russell Nelson
Tuesday, September 28, 5-6 p.m., Zoom Link
October 19 – December 2
Devhara – Priya Kambli
Devhara features the recent work of Truman State professor of photography Priya Kambli, the 2021 Missouri Arts Council Individual Artist of the Year. In her work, Kambli has always strived to understand the formation and erasure of identity that is an inevitable part of the migrant experience. She does so by mining an archive of family heirlooms, artworks, photographs, and other documents, even as she creates new images – new documents – which become part of that collection. Kambli’s work has particular resonance in a political climate marked by anti-immigrant rhetoric.
Virtual artist talk with Priya Suresh Kambli
Tuesday, November 9, 4:30 p.m., Zoom Link
A Million Miles Away – Nazanin Amiri Meers – Charlyn Gallery
Fibers artist Nazanin Amiri Meers’ immersive installation A Million Miles Away contemplates cross-cultural experiences of space. By incorporating elements of Iranian architecture that reflect Islamic beliefs including screens and abstract geometric patterning, her work contemplates the concepts of privacy and quietude often emphasized in Islamic architecture but lacking in American architecture. Amiri Meers studied Textile Design and Print in Iran and earned an MFA in Fiber Arts at the University of Kansas. A Million Miles Away is co-sponsored by Truman’s Global Issues Colloquium and Missouri Arts Council.
Opening Reception
Tuesday, October 19, 5-6:30 p.m.
Virtual artist talk with Nazanin Amiri Meers, Global Issues Colloquium
Thursday, October 21, 7 p.m., Zoom Link
December 6-10
BA/BFA Thesis Exhibition
We set aside a week at the end of each semester to show the capstone projects of studio art seniors completing their BA or BFA in ceramics, fibers, painting, photography, printmaking, or sculpture.
A Strong Foundation
Faculty-selected works from our studio art foundation courses.
Closing reception
Friday, December 10, 6-7:30 p.m.
Spring 2022
January 18 – February 25
Greener than grass – Rachel Youn
In sculptures and installations, Rachel Youn’s work contemplates the experience of growing up in the middle of the country as the child of an immigrant father in pursuit of the American Dream—an American Dream that often takes the form of material goods. Their work explores how these goods are often generic but earnestly want to appear like the real thing, and may promise the sensation of care and intimacy but often fail. The artist pulls together cast-off objects and devices—sourced from Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, and other banal sources—and repurposes them into playful and absurd installations that often move and create noise.
Rachel Youn’s kinetic sculptures will be on from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays and upon request during other times when the gallery is open.
Youn completed a BFA at Washington University in St. Louis and recently was awarded a place in the 2020 Great Rivers Biennial at the Contemporary Art Museum, St. Louis. Greener than grass is sponsored by Missouri Arts Council.
Ensemble of Fragments – Rachel Hubbard Kline
Rachel Hubbard Kline engages historic archives and her background in textiles to create ceramic works that reexamine history and attempt to make connections to our current moment. Hubbard Kline completed her MFA in Studio Art at the Maryland Institute College of Art and is an artist and art educator based in Kansas City, Missouri.
Opening Reception
Tuesday, January 18, 5-6:30 p.m.
Virtual artist talk with Rachel Youn
Wednesday, February 16, 5-6 p.m., zoom link
Keynote, Truman State University Women’s and Gender Studies Forum
Artist demonstration with Rachel Hubbard Kline for Truman students
Thursday, February 24, 10:30 a.m. or 1:30 p.m.
Ceramics studio, Ophelia Parrish 1260
March 15 – April 21
Annual Juried Student Exhibition – in the main gallery
Guest juror: Anna Metcalfe, Minneapolis Community and Technical College
The Annual Juried Student Exhibition is always one of the highlights of the University Art Gallery schedule. Come view some of the best recent Truman student artwork, juried in spring 2021 by ceramicist Anna Metcalfe. Online entry forms are due February 26, and works must be dropped off February 27-28. For the exact dates, rules, and entry form click here.
Upstream – Anna Metcalfe – The Cube
Ceramicist Anna Metcalfe’s works combine ceramics and social practice to explore the relationships between water, agriculture, food, and community. In Upstream, the artist explores how communities are connected through a common watershed by recording experiences and memories about water shared through conversations over tea. Metcalfe then reproduces those stories on cups to spark new conversations. Metcalfe lives in Minneapolis and currently teaches at Minneapolis Community and Technical College. Upstream is sponsored by Missouri Arts Council.
Virtual artist talk with juror Anna Metcalfe
Tuesday, March 22, 4:30-5:30 p.m., zoom link
Opening reception
Tuesday, March 15, 5-6:30 p.m.
Gallery reception with refreshments, 2022 Student Research Conference
Thursday, April 21, 3-4 p.m.
March 28 – April 29
Handcrafted rebellion: The Arts and Crafts Movement – Charlyn Gallery
This exhibition presents late-19th and early 20th-century objects from the Arts and Crafts movement. Researched and curated by students in Museum Studies courses using works from Pickler Memorial Library Special Collections and Museums, Handcrafted Rebellion explores how the Arts and Crafts movement endeavored to create items that were both beautiful and utilitarian in opposition to growing industrial production. Highlights include an original leaflet from a Kelmscott Press Chaucer, design work from William Morris, and ceramics from the Rookwood Pottery in Cincinatti. You can also explore the exhibition online.
Gallery reception with refreshments, 2022 Student Research Conference
Thursday, April 21, 3-4 p.m.
April 25 – 30
BA/BFA Thesis Exhibition
We set aside a week at the end of each semester to show the capstone projects of studio art seniors completing their BA or BFA in ceramics, fibers, painting, photography, printmaking, or sculpture.
Closing reception
Friday, April 29, 6-7:30 p.m.
Visit Us
The University Art Gallery resides in the renovated gymnasium in Ophelia Parrish Hall located on Truman State University’s campus near the intersection of East Normal Street and South Mulanix Street. Exhibitions are free and open to the public.
Gallery Hours:
Monday – Thursday 8:30 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Friday 8:30am – 5:00 p.m.
Saturday Noon – 4:30 p.m.
Please note, the University Art Gallery is closed between exhibitions and during all Truman State University breaks.
Parking
During regular business hours, free on-street parking is available on S. Florence Street and S. Mulanix Street. After hours and on Saturdays, you may park in the university parking lots off E. Normal Street for free.
