Alumni News: Michael Cepress
Michael Cepress (MFA 2006) is one of the organizers of Fraternal Twins, an exhibit that closes Sunday, 30 January 2011, at Ouch My Eye Gallery. 
Last summer, he was commissioned to design and hand screen-print paper ties/sashes worn by guests at the Seattle Parks Foundations’ inaugural Green Tie Gala fundraiser, organized by The Adventure School. The event was held in September 2010 to celebrate the opening of Lake Union Park. As he said, “There’s no thrill quite like being present at an event where 400 people are all wearing your work!” His fashion design for men was featured in “Seattle Signature Styles,” an article in the September 2010 issue of Seattle Magazine.
Alumni News: Eric Eley
Eric Eley (MFA 2005) now lives in Dallas, Texas, but he has returned to Seattle to create his largest indoor installation ever at Suyama Space. The work, titled In Theater, is taking over the venue. The opening is Friday, 21 January, from 5-7pm, and Eley will talk about the piece at Suyama Space between noon and 3pm on Saturday, 22 January. The blog of City Arts Magazine posted an entry yesterday about In Theater. Be sure to check out the slideshow they have included, which shows both broad and detailed views. The captions provide additional information about this work, which will stay up through 08 April 2011.
From 23 August through 23 September 2010, sixteen undergraduate and graduate students accompanied Professor Christopher Ozubko and professional photographer Mel Curtis on the sixth Design Program in Rome. Part of the curriculum involved students learning all aspects of digital photography and then producing exhibit-quality images. A small sampling of these photographs are currently on display at the University of Washington Club, and they will remain up through 01 March 2011. One of the graduate students, Cole Benson, also produced a video based on his Rome experience.
Strange Coupling 2011
Founded in 2002, Strange Coupling is an annual project that brings together current UW students and local artists to collaborate on artworks that are displayed at an exhibit in the spring. An auction to raise funds for this year’s project will take place on Thursday, 13 January, from 6:30-8:30pm at the 3D4M/CMA North Gallery. There is a suggested donation of $5.00 for admission. Donations of artwork for the auction can be made on Wednesday, 12 January, from 12-4pm in room 125 of the Art Building or on Thursday, 13 January, from 12-4pm in the North Gallery of the 3D4M/CMA Building (link above).
To be a student participant in Strange Coupling, you must donate an artwork for the auction or volunteer at the auction in addition to completing an application. More information about this and links for the application are available on the Strange Coupling blog. This year’s coupling process will be juried by Scott Lawrimore of the Lawrimore Project and Michael Van Horn, School of Art staff and curator of the Joseph and Elaine Monsen Photography Collection. Participating local artists are Sharon Arnold, Matt Browning (BFA 2007), Eli Hansen, Monica Mata Gilliam, Nicholas Nyland (BFA 1999), Susan Parr, and Ben Waterman (MFA 2009).
JLG in the News
The Jacob Lawrence Gallery is featured in today’s UW Today with an article titled “Uncovering the School of Art’s ‘accidental collection’“. An earlier article in CityArts about this project was posted previously.
Faculty News: Marek Wieczorek
During Autumn Quarter 2010, Art History Associate Professor Marek Wieczorek taught a course titled “Picasso,” which made regular, direct use of the artworks visiting the Seattle Art Museum from the Musée National Picasso in Paris. (The exhibit continues through 17 January 2011.) An article in the 22 November issue of The Daily featured the class and exhibit.
Student News: Neal Fryett
A current MFA student in Photomedia, Neal Fryett has had his work chosen for e4c, which is the electronic gallery created by 4Culture. Several artists have their work featured at any one time, and each artist has their work included for one year. The gallery can be seen at 101 Prefontaine S in Seattle. Fryett’s work will be there until November 2011.
Alumni News: Angela Hot
Angela Hot (formerly Haggman; BFA 2006) was chosen by Design Edge Canada magazine as one of Canada’s top ten designers to watch. The top ten designers are all under age 35, and were first nominated by their peers (in Hot’s case, she was nominated by David Coates, Partner at Ion Branding + Design, the design firm where Angela works) and then selected by the magazine. Nominees were described as each being an “extremely talented, up-and-coming designer who is producing highly creative and strategic design work.” Note that one of Hot’s recent projects was redesigning the signage on Granville Island in Vancouver, BC.
Faculty + Alumni at New Seattle Gallery
Prographica is a new gallery featuring fine works on paper. Norman Lundin, Professor Emeritus, started the gallery in conjunction with Francine Seders. 
Prographica’s inaugural exhibition is Previews of Things to Come, a group show. Four current School of Art faculty (David Brody, Ann Gale, Philip Govedare, and Zhi Lin) have work in the show as do at least ten alumni: Eric Elliott (MFA 2007), Phillip Levine (MFA 1961), Dale Lindman (MFA 1982), Robert Maki (MFA 1966), Sherry Markovitz (MFA 1975), Elizabeth Ockwell (BFA 1967), Linda Thomas (MFA 1996), Vannessa Tran (BFA 2000), Kimberly Trowbridge (MFA 2006), and Evelyn Woods (MFA 1993). This show opens with a celebration on Saturday, 11 December, from 2-5pm. The exhibit continues through 05 February 2011.
Faculty News: Timea Tihanyi
Art Division Lecturer Timea Tihanyi (MFA 2003) went to the island of Bornholm in Denmark last summer, invited to participate in the Artist in Residence program that was related to European Ceramic Context 2010. She stayed and worked in the town of Nexo at Mobelfabrikken, an old furniture factory that now has a ceramics and glassblowing studio. While there, Tihanyi created a public art intervention project inspired by the interesting history and natural beauty of the island. Here is what she says about the project:
“Seventy-nine ceramics sculptures were placed along the bicycle paths of the island during a week in September. Each sculpture was meant to serve as a marker in the form of a roughly shaped block of unfired clay. They were left unfired to allow the natural process of erosion gradually melting the clay back into the soil. Inside the compartment of each clay block, I placed a small fragile porcelain sculpture. During the hours and days of placing and consequently documenting the sculptures, I had a chance to discover again and again each subtle and gorgeous detail of land, sea, and sky; the constant beauty of textures, colors and movements, which never stopped to amaze me. Over time, some of the sculptures were moved around, people either adopted them, or facilitated the first steps towards their inevitable decay into the ground.”
Tihanyi currently has a show at SOIL Gallery titled The Bornholm Project: What is beauty if not the uncontainable held for a brief moment?. The exhibit will remain up until 24 December.
