Union gallery displays La. Sculptors Exhibit in Foster Hall

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By Charles Nunmaker

Despite ongoing construction in the LSU Student Union, the LSU Student Union Art Gallery Committee is now displaying the Louisiana Sculptors Exhibit in Foster Hall.

The Louisiana Sculptors Exhibit is a one-of-a-kind exhibit that has brought together some of the best works of art from Louisiana sculptors. The exhibit was originally going to be an outdoor display of the artwork, but due to the construction on the Union, the exhibit was pushed to the art gallery in Foster Hall.

The sculptures that are on display are the works of fourteen of Louisiana's best-known sculptors. Brought together in this exhibit are Clyde Connell, Michael Daugherty, Stephen Paul Day, Dawn Dedeaux, Steven Durow, Lin Emery, Sid Garrett, Mitchell Gaudet, Gene Koss, Francis X. Pavy, Jonathan Pellitteri, W. Steve Rucker, Bradley Sabin and John Scott.

The exhibit also includes loaned pieces of sculpture from the Arthur Roger Gallery of New Orleans, and the LSU Museum of Art in Baton Rouge. Along with the loaned pieces, private collections from Greg Garrett, Gene and Betty Norman, Jonathan Pellitteri, and Michael Robinson will also be on display.

"These 14 sculptors are masters of their selected art medium," said gallery assistant Christine Morgan. "Several of the artists represented here, such as Michael Daugherty and Gene Koss, were mentors of some of the artists represented in the show. This show represents non-objective images from a variety of art mediums such as glass, metal, ceramics, wood, and other materials."

As Christine Morgan said, this exhibit is a culmination of several different sculptural media forms that has been set to explore the diversity of the different forms displayed. The sculpture on display includes everything from freestanding kinetic sculptures to glass art works.

"This exhibit is unique because of the artists' mastery of their medium and have achieved professional recognition in the art world because of it," said Morgan.

"Some of the artists use glass as an industrial medium, which is innovative for a material that is considered very delicate. Others focus on concerns for the environment. Some of their work is a personal response to Hurricane Katrina. In cases like Clyde Connell, she used African influence and native Louisiana materials, such as red clay."

There are several different artists' statements behind the artworks themselves, such as LSU Professor and celebrated sculptor, Jonathan Pelliteri, who said:

"It is my hope for viewers that the carefully considered construction and subtle imperfections of my sculptures will emphasize their difference from the machine-made objects that fill our lives. With the objects I create I impart to the viewer a settling for their imagination to expand upon, informed by their own experiences, and guided by curiosity."

The Louisiana Sculptors Exhibit is on display in the Foster Hall Art Gallery that is located on Dalrymple Drive behind Middleton Library. The exhibit is open Monday through Friday 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., and on Sunday from 1-5 p.m.

Originally Published: Issue 863 - February 3, 2010

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