BFA Exhibitions Continue with Fine Art Shows by Sydni Gause and Bryant Smith

Mixed media work on view in Currey Gallery Nov. 29 through Dec. 9

Watkins’ Fine Art Thesis Exhibitions 2012, a two-part series of work by five graduating students in the Fine Art Department, concludes with a double exhibition offering from Bachelor of Fine Art degree candidates Sydni Gause and Bryant Smith, opening Thursday, Nov. 29, with a reception from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Their work will be on display in the Brownlee O. Currey, Jr. Gallery on campus through Dec. 9.

Gause, who works with wood and casting concrete, presents urban, industrial sculptures in The Anxious Object. Relationships, both emotional and physical, play a big role in her work, and her pieces explore surface and material and how they respond to one another. Smith is a mixed media artist who uses found and accumulated objects in his show The Psychological Home: A Practice of Memorization. He has a background in auto body work, giving a different perspective on materials use, and his rural upbringing is a constant filter through which he investigates the urban city.

The exhibitions and reception are free and the public is invited. Watkins is located at 2298 Rosa L. Parks Boulevard in MetroCenter; free parking is available in the campus lot.  For more information, visit Watkins.edu or call 615.383.4848.

Sydni Gause, Leesburg, FL
BFA in Fine Art

Show title: The Anxious Object
(wood, concrete, light)

Statement: The main focus of my artistic energy leans toward the investigation of urban, industrial objects whose considered transition leads to a thoughtful and perhaps empathetic conclusion. 

Bryant Smith, Denmark, TN
BFA in Fine Art

                Show title: The Psychological Home: A Practice of Memorization

Statement: In my practice I try to find the satirical moments in life and use art to transform them into social dioramas. By exposing vanities, vices, and virtues the viewer has the opportunity to connect on a sympathetic/empathic level. My desire is to discover connections between social issues and the aesthetic of the chosen materials. I use cultural icons such as beer bottles and candy wrappers as social beacons in my art practice.

The Fall 2012 Watkins BFA Senior Thesis Exhibition kicks off with the Nov. 15–25 shows of BFA candidates Amy F. Edwards, Emily Davis and Mollie Row.

Regular Currey Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and Sunday, 2 to 4 p.m.  (Watkins will be closed Nov. 21-22 for the Thanksgiving holiday.) Admission is free.