After a two-year hiatus, the University of Georgia Lamar Dodd School of Art welcomes the return of the Art Party Extravaganza, a celebration of four new exhibitions on view in the school’s galleries, a site-specific commission in the “Wall Works” series, and graduate student open studios in drawing and painting, printmaking and book arts, photography and expanded media, ceramics, and fabric design.
The Art Party Extravaganza will take place Sept. 16 at the School of Art on 270 River Road from 6-8 p.m. All events at the galleries are free and the public is invited to attend.
“The fact that it has been a two-year hiatus since we’ve last presented this party makes this opportunity really exciting,” said Joseph Peragine, director of the School of Art, on the return of this seminal event. “I look forward to coming back together as a community and expanding the event so that people get a peek into the graduate studios, as well as a chance to enjoy all the work that is being presented—it’s just going to be a nice evening. I hope everyone will come and engage, spend some time with artists, ask lots of questions, and give great feedback.”
Guests are invited to enjoy improvised music by local electronic musician Libba Loops, an art book petting zoo hosted by the University of Georgia Art Library, a zine exchange, a special photo booth and snacks and drinks. Beverages will be provided courtesy of Creature Comforts Brewing.
Exhibitions and artwork commission
In the Margie E. West Gallery, artists Yevgeniya Baras and Pete Schulte create a broader dialogue on abstraction, line and color as it coincides in contemporary painting and drawing. This exhibition was organized by The Gallery at Heimbold Visual Arts Center, Sarah Lawrence College, and will be on view through Nov. 10.
The Bridge Gallery will feature “Intangible Memories,” works by MFA candidate in ceramics Huey Lee, who investigates the condition of clay and how it exists as a relic of his emotional record expressed as a visual language. The exhibition will be on view through Oct. 13.
Interdisciplinary artist and MFA candidate Meredith Emery will present the exhibition “standing by the fall” in the Suite Gallery, wherein Emery considers the entanglement of the individual, ecological communities and institutions in the climate crisis. The exhibition will be on view through Oct. 13.
“Absurd Construction” is an exhibition disguised as an experimental construction site. The installation, created by MFA candidates Rachel Seburn and Ethan Snow, foregrounds alternative building practices that investigate experimental applications for various materials. The exhibition will be on view through Oct. 13.
Atlanta-based artist Madora Frey presents a site-specific installation in the Plaza Gallery at the entryway of the School of Art in the latest commission for the series “Wall Works.” The commission will be on view through Nov. 14.
Open studios
The School of Art offers opportunities for prospective students to explore its graduate studios. This year, the public is invited to see working graduate spaces in the main building and at the nearby ceramics building during the Art Party Extravaganza on Sept. 16 and to return on Sept. 29 for open studios in sculpture and jewelry and metalwork during the Short Shorts film festival at the Thomas Street Art Complex.
To read more about these exhibitions, upcoming programs, and academic studies at the Lamar Dodd School of Art, please visit art.uga.edu.