Martina Shenal: “Secondary Nature”

Exhibition Information
Location: Artspace Gallery on the CSN North Las Vegas Campus
Dates: September 22 – Saturday, November 4, 2017
Preview, Artist Talk & Artist Reception: Thursday, September 21, 6 p.m.

Artist Statement: “Secondary Nature”
The conceptual direction of the series secondary nature explores aspects of human intervention relative to the landscape; intersections of public and private, nature vs. the built environment, literal and metaphorical boundaries that protect as well as isolate. Acknowledging that place suggests an experiential encounter and space points to the unknown, these images invoke the dichotomy of an intimate encounter against the distanced backdrop of foreign observation. Though they involve a highly detailed transcription of place, they are, in one sense, more about the act of looking than a narrative about place. They operate within a perpetually passing moment–ambiguous fragments of the material world.

They are part of a larger, ongoing series entitled borrowed views, after the Japanese shakkei, and utilize the stylized perspective strategies in traditional eastern landscape painting and seventeenth century Japanese garden design. In the new series, I chose the title to draw parallels between the notion of differentiated natures, with references to first nature (instinct) and second nature (culture). In some sense, I am searching for an idealized landscape on these islands that is reflective of the garden: highly manipulated, tightly controlled and cultivated; offering a mediated interaction with the natural world while contextualizing it within a broader topographical and conceptual framework.

Biography
Martina Shenal is an Associate Professor in the Photography division at the School of Art at the University of Arizona in Tucson. She earned her MFA degree from Arizona State University in Tempe and her BFA degree from The Ohio State University in Columbus.

Shenal has received numerous grants and fellowships including a Western States Art Federation/National Endowment for the Arts Regional Fellowship in New Genres, a Visual Art Fellowship from the Tennessee Arts Commission, multiple Professional Development Grants from the Arizona Commission on the Arts, and a Contemporary Forum Artists Material Grant from the Phoenix Art Museum. Selected solo exhibitions of her work have been held at Place M Gallery, Tokyo, Whittier College, University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, State University of New York-Brockport, University of California Berkeley Extension Gallery, and the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art.

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Antonio Gomez: “Charro: Portrait of a Way of Life”

 

A young Charro Performs at Antonio Gomez: Charro: Protrait of a Way of Life

Exhibition Information
Location: Fine Arts Gallery on the CSN North Las Vegas Campus
Dates: September 8 – Saturday, October 28, 2017
Artist Talk & Artist Reception: Thursday, September 14, 5 p.m.

Artist Statement: Charro
“Charro”, offers and insider perspective of a way of life that exists both in folklore tradition as much as it does in the contemporary every-day. In a documentary style and through the use of black and white photography, I strive to capture epic experiences of this beautiful tradition as well as intimate moments of romance, competition, sorrow, and Joy.

The work shows how Charrería is more than a national sport of Mexico. It’s a festive spectacle of costume and ceremony that evokes enormous national pride for Mexicanos in their homeland or across borders. Charro, Portrait of a Way of Life is a study of the struggle of many Mexican immigrants who make it their mission to pass on equestrian precision and human nobility to the next generation.

Biography
Born in Mexico, Antonio Gomez started his journey as a photographer as he discovered the work of photographer, Henry Cartier-Bresson while stationed in Germany. Soon after his enlistment in the U.S. Army he attended the College of Creative Studies in Detroit where he earned a B.F.A. in applied photography and a Masters in Fine Art from Wayne State University.

Antonio continues to document his surroundings and its people and occasionally goes to Mexico to continue with the documentation of his beloved country. Antonio has self-published three books on some of his ongoing personal projects. His latest book “Life, Devotion and Departure” is a very close to his heart as he documents his parents struggle with Alzheimer’s, their devotion to each other and the hardships that result from their retirement, in Mexico. His documentary series on the Las Vegas street was published in the online National Geographic magazine edition in 2014. His latest project, “Charro, Portrait of a Way of Life”, is a 13-year-old documentary series of the struggle of many Mexican immigrants who make it their mission to pass on equestrian precision and human nobility to the next generation.

Antonio moved to Las Vegas Nevada in 2004 where he holds a full time teaching position at the College of Southern Nevada. He resides in the outskirts of the city with his wife and three children.

Jessica Larva: “Leeward”

Exhibition Information
Location: Artspace Gallery on the CSN North Las Vegas Campus
Dates: Friday, July 7 – Saturday, September 9, 2017
Artist Talk & Artist Reception: Wednesday, September 6, 6 p.m.

Artist Statement: Leeward
Growing up in the flat landscape of the Midwest, the long expanse of the horizon has an almost tangible presence. It is a familiar and calming constant, and yet our concept of the horizon is paradoxical and abstract. Celine Flecheux writes in her book L’horizon, “the seemingly contradictory aspects of the horizon oblige use to ask ourselves what is the nature of the horizon, and whether it is a line, a circle, an opening or a wall, a locus for the vanishing point or a chimerical place, a mark of the finite or resonance of the infinite, an enveloping limit or vertiginous abyss.”

This body of work developed from an interest in how we align conflicting perceptions and reestablish visual and cognitive balance. Physiologically a sense of balance is derived from vision, the vestibular system in the inner ear, and proprioception provided by the physical body contributing to a sense of the body’s place in space. If those senses send ambiguous or conflicting information we suffer from disorientation that ranges from confusion to vertigo. For example, airplane pilots who loose the visual reference of the horizon in bad weather may not be able to align their perceptions and have been know to suffer from sensory illusions that can lead to catastrophe.

Psychological balance is also often symbolically and metaphorically represented through orientation and direction. Phrases like “my world turned upside-down” or “I couldn’t tell if I was coming or going” often indicate confusion, an overwhelmed state, and lack of psychological balance. Conversely, distant horizons with their clear sense of orientation and direction are used in imagery and prose as places of balance. It seems fitting that physiological and psychological balance would share a vocabulary of orientation and that consistent markers like the horizon would indicate stability.

My work is aesthetically reminiscent of abstract color field painting and is influenced by perceptual abstraction, however the development was also closely tied to avant- garde structural film including Paul Sharits’ film installation “Shutter Interface” and Tony Conrad’s flicker films as well as the work of conceptual artist Jan Dibbets. Unlike color field painting, the photographic medium used in this artwork imbeds the work with residual detail that we understand as orientation. Because of this detail one can see how the natural horizons pivot, abutting “above” and “below” until the orientation becomes convoluted.

The individual horizon sections used in these pieces essentially loose their properties of balance and spatial orientation to become an undulating curtain of color. At the same time the strata of vertical bands combine to construct an entirely new horizontal form and establish a new sense of balance.

Leeward is a nautical term meaning downwind from a point of reference. If a ship is heeling in the wind the leeward side is lower and sheltered from the wind. I selected the title to refer back to the position of the camera relative to the images of the horizon.

Biography
Jessica Larva was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and currently lives and works in Chicago, Illinois. She earned her BFA (2002) and MFA (2005) in new media art at Ohio State University.

Larva has exhibited across the country including notable exhibitions such as her solo show Fluid Horizons at Ohio Dominican University (2013), group shows iDEAS 16 at the Laird-Norton Center (Minnesota, 2016), 64 at the Buchanan Center for the Arts (Illinios, 2015), Sky High at the Riffe Gallery and Southern Ohio Portsmouth Museum (2014), Botanicals at the Kiernan Gallery (Virginia, 2013) Photo Plus at the Jacob Jarvits Center (New York, 2003), two-person installation Inscription (Ohio, 2011), video screening at Mission Art Walk (Texas, 2007) and at the Wexner Center (Ohio, 2005). Additionally Larva co-curated Tracing Lines at the Urban Art Space (Ohio, 2012) and curated numerous new media exhibitions in her role as exhibition chair of the not-for-profit arts organization Fuse Factory. Her solo show Leeward opens at the College of Southern Nevada in 2017.

Larva was formerly the studio assistant for artist Ann Hamilton and is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Art, Media, and Design at DePaul University.

Artwork List
Title: Great Lake (orange)
Media: giclée print
Dimensions: Variable: 17″ x 41″
Date: 2015

Title: August Lake
Media: giclée print
Dimensions: Variable: 17″ x 41″
Date: 2017

Title: Great Lake (teal)
Media: giclée print
Dimensions: Variable: 17″ x 41″
Date: 2015

Title: Great Lake (gold)
Media: giclée print
Dimensions: Variable: 17″ x 41″
Date: 2017

Title: Chicago (pink)
Media: giclée print
Dimensions: Variable: 17″ x 41″
Date: 2015

Title: NYC (gray)
Media: giclée print
Dimensions: Variable: 17″ x 43″
Date: 2013

Title: Otolith Shift (orange)
Media: giclée print
Dimensions: Variable: 17″ x 41″
Date: 2015

Title: Otolith Shift  (pink)
Media: giclée print
Dimensions: Variable: 17″ x 41″
Date: 2015

Title: Boston
Media: giclée print
Dimensions: Variable: 17″ x 39″
Date: 2012

Title: Siesta Key
Media: giclée print
Dimensions: Variable: 17″ x 41″
Date: 2013

Links
https://www.jessicalarva.com

Benjamin Entner: “Classics”

Exhibition Information
Location: Fine Arts Gallery on the CSN North Las Vegas Campus
Dates: Friday, July 7 – Saturday, September 2, 2017
Preview, Artist Talk & Artist Reception: Thursday, July 6, 6 p.m.

Artist Statement
Although I am formally trained as a sculptor, I am conceptually and technically drawn to a multidisciplinary studio practice that involves video, installation, performance, drawing, sewing, sound, and painting… as well as the traditional modes of three-dimensional art, most especially woodworking. My work is driven by ideas or curiosities, and I simply try to find the best tools to address these.

I create works that are the result of play or experimentation, and that range conceptually with my many interests: from children’s literature to aquatic life; women’s underwear to architecture; fire to fly-fishing. Often the only constant is the importance placed on an imperfect and obsessive craft, whether seen or not, and a sarcastic sense of humour.

As I work on a project, I try to anticipate and plan for the viewers’ experience. I want to make viewers aware of themselves as they relate to my art. I accomplish this by creating a presence of an object or installation that interrupts or intervenes in the passive viewing of a piece and invites an active experience with it. Within the gravitas of a typical art space, I also try to inspire a childlike nostalgia and wonder by engaging the viewer with an object or environment that is fun, funny, playful, awesome, and/or rad.

My current body of work, Sumus, explores the boundaries and interplay between two- and three- dimensional methods of making. Specifically, the point at which a drawing can become form and an object can become representation. Focusing on the figure, I draw contemporary individuals: myself, friends, family in postures similar to the figures of Classical Greco-Roman and Renaissance sculpture. In so doing, I hope to create an awkward dialogue between my contemporary parodies and the historical works—a dialogue that questions and challenges perspectives of beauty, proportion, sexuality, and idealized form.

Biography
Benjamin Entner received his MFA in sculpture from Syracuse University and his BA in Renaissance and Medieval Studies from the University of Albany and is currently an Assistant Professor of Art and Design at Oswego State University New York. His work explores the boundaries and interplay between two and three- dimensional methods of art making and has been exhibited both nationally and internationally.

Artwork List
Title: Moses
Media: Marker on fabric, bathroom fan
Dimensions: Variable: 4′ x 4′ x 9′
Date: 2011

Title: Hermes and the Infant Dionysus
Media: Marker on fabric, bathroom fan
Dimensions: Variable: 3.5′ x 5′ x 10′
Date: 2011

Title: Portrait of Gordian III, from Gabii
Media: Marker on paper
Dimensions: Approximately 60” x 88”
Date: 2013

Title: Discobolos
Media: Marker on paper
Dimensions: Approximately 60” x 96”
Date: 2013

Title: Innocenti
Media: Marker on Paper
Dimensions: Each Approximately 45″ x 45″
Date: 2016

Title: Head of Colossus
Media: Marker on fabric, bathroom fan
Dimensions: Variable: 2′ x 2′ x 2′
Date: 2016

 

Links
https://www.oswego.edu/communication-media-and-the-arts/benjamin-entner

2017 Juried Student Exhibition Salon des Refusés

Attention les E’tudiants!

That means you, students. Don’t despair if your work didn’t make it into the Annual Student Exhibition. As an exhibitor relegated to the Salon des Refusés, you are joining some illustrious historical company: Edouard Manet, Paul Ce’zanne, Camille Pissarro, James McNeill Whistler. These artists, known today for putting Western painting on a new path in the 19th-century, were all “refused” entry to the official French Salon in 1863—their works shunted off to an annex, where the public, for the most part, greeted them with laughter and derision.

A little historical context might help here. If you were one of the thousands of artists working in Paris in the 1860s, your success was very much connected with your work being accepted for exhibition at the Salon, the official exhibition space, sponsored by the E’cole des Beaux -Arts. To be accepted was no easy thing. The jurors who selected the works were a conservative lot, with a preference for art that generally looked something like “watered down” versions of Italian Renaissance masterpieces. If you were a friend or protégé of a juror, you had an edge up on those who weren’t fortunate enough to have any official supporters. And, friends in high places really mattered in this environment since the number of competitors for a spot in the exhibition space reached into the thousands. To make matters worse, if you did compete and were rejected, your work would be stamped with an “R” for “refused”—try to find somebody to buy that!

In 1863, things came to a head: that year over 4,000 works were rejected, many of them by painters whose work deviated from the accepted academic styles. Rather than quietly accept the verdict of a system stacked against them, the rejected artists, along with their supporters, lashed out. They created such a storm of controversy that the Emperor of France, Napoleon III, had to step in; after all, for the French, unlike their American counterparts, art was no mere luxury commodity but a potent political force. Napoleon III decided to compromise—and, in the process, to keep the oppositional artists under control. That year, there would be two Salons, the official academic Salon and a second exhibition space, the Salon des Refusés (the Salon of the Refused).

If it had been possible for Napoleon III to send out a tweet announcing the Salon des Refusés, it might have read something as follows:

In reality, Napoleon III wasn’t quite that direct; he put out a statement to the effect that the Salon des Refusés would “ . . . let the public judge the legitimacy of these complaints” for themselves. And judge they did. The exhibition drew enormous crowds, most of whom greeted the works with laughter and/or indignation. And who’s to blame the 19th century French public for that response? Works like Manet’s Déjeuner sur l’ herbe (Luncheon on the Grass) ran counter to everything they had been taught about good painting: the space was illogical, the contrasts were so bold that the figures looked as if they were pasted onto the surface of the canvas, the brushwork was extremely obvious in an era which prized almost invisible paint handling–the list of faults could go on and on. It’s only with the benefit of hindsight that we can see that Manet was practicing a new way of painting, one that would help usher in a new era of art with a name of its own: modernism.

So, in the end, Manet and company had the last laugh, even if they weren’t around to enjoy it. No one today (except for a few scholars of 19th-century French painting) remembers the names of the vast majority of those who exhibited in the official Salon—while anyone who has the slightest interest in the history of Western art will quickly learn the accomplishments of the painter named Edouard Manet (even if he will, at times, be confused with Monet, but that’s another matter).

Moral of this story: time will tell, or something to that effect, so take pleasure now at seeing your work displayed in our very own CSN Salon des Refusés. Who knows what the future holds?

Text credit: CSN Professor of Art, Dr. Linda Angel

2017 Juried Student Exhibition

Exhibition Information
Location: Fine Arts & Artspace Galleries on the CSN North Las Vegas Campus
Dates: Friday, May 12 – Saturday, June 24, 2017
Juror’s Talk, Awards Presentation & Artist Reception: Friday, May 12, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Press Release
The College of Southern Nevada Fine Arts Gallery will present its annual Juried Student Exhibition beginning Friday, May 12, 2017 and will run through Saturday, June 24, 2017. A reception with refreshments, awards ceremony, gallery talk, and Salon de Refusés will take place on Friday, May 12, from 6 – 8 p.m. This exhibition will feature student artwork made in connection with CSN Fine Arts Department, Art and Art History courses with media including drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, ceramics, jewelry and design.

This year’s exhibition will feature guest artist and judge David Ryan. Ryan gleans inspiration from the slick colors and lines of cars, electronic gadgets and household appliances to transform mundane, undesirable MDF into luxurious, enticing wall-sculptures. By creating multiple (literal) layers, Ryan explores the way line, shape and shadow interact to produce perceptual conundrums that intrigue his viewer. Thus his conceptually multi-layered pieces speak not only of glossy consumer products but also refer to phenomenology and complex art theories. His work explores the dynamic between craft and production, art and design, man and machine.

Ryan received his BFA from the University of Texas in Austin, TX and his MFA from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (NV) where he studied under Dave Hickey and Libby Lumpkin. His work has been exhibited at the Laguna Art Museum (CA), Las Vegas Art Museum (NV), Galerie Jean-Luc & Takako Richard (Paris), Seomi & Tuus (Seoul), Davidson Contemporary (NY), and James Kelly Contemporary (NM). David Ryan lives and works in Las Vegas.

The CSN Art Galleries would like to thank its guest judge, Mr. David Ryan and its outstanding community partners, Blick Art Materials and W. W. Norton & Company publishing for their generous support of this exhibition and our students.

The CSN Fine Arts Gallery and all gallery events are free and open to the public. Gallery hours are from 9 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. The Fine Arts Gallery are located at the half circle drive near CSN’s main entrance, on the North Las Vegas campus at 3200 E. Cheyenne Avenue, one mile East of I-15 North.

For more information please call (702) 651-4146
https://www.csn.edu/artgallery

And the Winners Are…

“Best of Show”
Javier Esqueda, “Olive”, Oil on Canvas, Painting I, Suzanne Acosta

“Juror’s Award”
Madison Brown, “Lovelace”, Painting, Design Fundamentals (2-D), Mark Brandvik

“Juror’s Award”
Said Gomez, “Drive-In Daze”, Mixed Media, Drawing II, Kevin Chupik

“Juror’s Award”
Diana Gorokhovskaya, “Light”, Photograph, Art Appreciation, Paul Ste. Marie

“Juror’s Award”
Dan Hernandez, “As the World Burns”, Cut and Painted Paperboard, Design Fundamentals (2-D), Kevin Chupik

“Juror’s Award”
Josett Manotham-Garin, “Deep Space Study”, Oil on Canvas, Painting I, Suzanne Acosta

“Juror’s Award”
Maria Rose T. Ondo, “Winter’s End”, Oil on Canvas, Painting I, Suzanne Acosta

“Juror’s Award”
Michelle Quiroz, “Resurrection”, Colored Pencil on Paper, Design Fundamentals (2-D), Wendy Kveck

“Juror’s Award”
Andrew Secopito, “Deep Space Perspective”, Oil on Canvas, Painting I, Suzanne Acosta

“Juror’s Award”
Rebekah Solorzano, “Mind in Matter”, Oil on Canvas, Painting I, Suzanne Acosta

“Juror’s Award”
Ross K. Takahashi, “Fake Science”, Mixed Media, Drawing II, Kevin Chupik

 

2017 Art of the Young Child

Exhibition Information
Location: Artspace Gallery on the CSN North Las Vegas Campus & “I” Building Lobby on the CSN Charleston Campus
Dates: Friday, April 7 – Saturday, April 29, 2017
Gallery Talk & Artist Reception: Friday, February 10, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Press Release
The College of Southern Nevada Department of Fine Arts will host an exhibition of artwork created by students of the CSN Early Childhood Education Laboratory Program. This exhibition, a collection of artwork by children ages 6 months through 5 years, utilizes a variety of media and expresses the thoughts, emotions, and creative explorations of its young artists. “2017 Art of the Young Child” will begin Friday, April 7, and will run through Saturday, April 29, 2017.

“Art is a vital part of the Early Childhood curriculum,” says Janis Fikes-Buntjer, ECE Laboratory Program Director. “Children of all ages are given time and access each day to explore and manipulate a wide range of art materials. As children explore – they learn. They learn about physical properties of the media; they learn problem-solving skills; they learn social skills; they develop motor skills; and they learn creative ways to express themselves – most importantly they learn that ART IS FUN!”

CSN’s Early Childhood Education Lab Program is a nationally accredited preschool, kindergarten and childcare program for children ages 6 months through 5 years. As a model for “best practice” in Early Childhood Education, the ECE Lab Program provides CSN students, participating parents, and the local Early Childhood community, opportunities for observation and practice.

This exhibition is featured in conjunction with the CSN Early Childhood Education Program and in celebration of the National Association of the Education of Young Children’s (NAEYC) “Week of the Young Child,” April 24 – April 28, 2017. This exhibition is free and open to the public.

Artwork will be on display at the Artspace Gallery on the North Las Vegas Campus, 3200 E. Cheyenne Avenue, North Las Vegas and in the “I” Building, First Floor, Main Corridor, on the Charleston Campus, 6375 W. Charleston Boulevard, Las Vegas. This exhibition will be open during normal campus building hours.

Links
https://www.csn.edu/programs/early-childhood
http://www.naeyc.org/woyc

Light Play by Robot Army

Exhibition Information
Location: Artspace Gallery on the CSN North Las Vegas Campus
Dates: Friday, March 31 – Saturday, April 29, 2017
Artist Reception: Friday, March 31, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Artist Talk: Friday, April 7, 9 a.m., Charleston Campus, Room N101
CSN Science & Technology Expo: Friday, April 28, 9 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Artist Statement

Light Play is an interactive hive of miniature delta robots which function as a mechatronic prosthetic for enhancing self expression. The movements of the individual robots are choreographed by a single participant’s physical gesture, resulting in synchronous motion and light patterns as feedback.
The experience of interfacing with the installation is meant to create a sense of empowerment, as if the machines were an extension of the body.

TECHNICAL DETAILS
The installation consists of 84 miniature delta robots constructed primarily of 3D printed and laser cut plastic. Each robot has a micro-controller “brain” which computes real-time delta kinematics for movement. The robots are connected together over an RS-485 network using DMX512 protocol to control motion and light output. A master computer processes input stimulus (light, sound and 3D tracking) to send motion and lighting instructions to each robot.

SET UP & SPACE REQUIREMENTS
The robots are housed on twelve hexagonal bases (palettes) that measure 38” x 38” (~96cm x 96cm) each in size. The bases can be tiled together in a fashion appropriate for the space they’re shown, covering a maximum of 15’ x 15’ (3 square meters).
The pallets are elevated and propped at an angle by two separate tiers of support structures that are also modular. There should be a 5’ minimum space around the perimeter of the installation for adequate distance between the robots and observers. Additionally, there should be an outlet nearby to provide power to the installation.

The installation is best presented in an area with complete darkness, having multiple wall facets to catch the shadows in motion cast by the robots themselves. Additionally, an interior space with an echo will amplify the 150+ motors of the machines, adding another potential layer of depth to the experience of controlling the robots.

ADAPTING TO ENVIRONMENTAL CIRCUMSTANCES
The robots are meant to be exhibited as an interactive display, where observers are encouraged to control the collective with their physical gestures or hand motions. In situations where there is no input or an excess of stimulus, the robots will switch modes and independently perform choreographed patterns of motion.

PROJECT HISTORY
The Light Play Project was funded by a crowdsourcing effort in 2014. This allowed supporters to own a piece of the installation in the form of an individual robot unit that could be assembled and used as a learning or development platform for personal use. Every delta robot kit that was adopted afforded an additional unit for the installation, which was produced in 2015.

PUBLIC APPEARANCES IN REGARD TO LIGHT PLAY:
Cheyenne Gallery, College of South Nevada ( upcoming, April 2017 ) Bay Area Maker Faire ( May 2016 )
Las Vegas Mini Maker Faire ( February 2016 )
Bay Area Maker Faire ( May 2015 )

Biography

ROBOT ARMY
Kinetic artist, Sarah Petkus and engineer, Mark Koch blend their complementary areas of knowledge in design and electronics to create interactive mechanical installations. Together they produce immersive kinetic environments, capable of responding to the presence of individuals within them. The resulting experience is meant to encourage a feeling of connection, control, or empowerment over the encompassing system in the surrounding space.

The duo was formed in 2014 prior to forging the business identity, Robot Army, for their crowdfunding campaign the “Robot Army Starter Kit”, where they released the design of their first robotic device as a product and DIY kit in order to fund the production of their first large scale installation, “Light Play”.

SARAH PETKUS
With a background in print-making and illustration, Sarah channels aspects of narrative and character development as the inspirational framework for her robots. It is her goal to create behavioral systems for her machines which express a sense of personality, and encourage a feeling of empathy in those who encounter them. By doing so, she hopes to expand the expectations of inanimate objects and coax reflection upon humanity’s own motivation for the technology we create, and the value of our own relationship with the technology which serves us in every-day life.

MARK KOCH
Mark is an electronics engineer with over 25-years of experience working in Silicon Valley at Sun Microsystems. He is currently a consultant for Blue Man Group in Las Vegas, where he is the goto man for designing circuitry and repairing all things electronic. Additionally, Mark helped seed the self motivated maker movement in Las Vegas by co-founding the first local hackerspace, SYN Shop.

Links
ROBOT ARMY
site: robot-army.com
email: info@robot-army.com
twitter: @robot_army

SARAH PETKUS
site: zoness.com
email: spetku@zoness.com
twitter: @spetku

MARK KOCH
site: circuitmonkey.com
email: mark@maehem.com
twitter: @MarkJKoch

Fathollahi & Sharif-pour: “Hearing a Mirror”

Exhibition Information
Location: Artspace Gallery on the CSN North Las Vegas Campus
Dates: Friday, February 10 – Saturday, March 25, 2017
Gallery Talk & Artist Reception: Friday, February 10, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Artist Statement
What do we experience when we experience others or ourselves? How much of it is reality and how much of it is a story we tell ourselves? What is the nature of conversation between the observer and the observed? “Hearing a Mirror” questions our ability to “know” through use of uncanny imagery, reflections, reproductions and artifacts.

Biography
Nanda Sharif-pour
Tehran-Iran, Las Vegas-United States

Sharif-pour holds a B.A. in Visual communication/Graphic Design and M.F.A. in Illustration/Fine Arts from Azad University of Art and Architecture in Tehran/Iran. Since 1999 she has participated in over 40 group and solo exhibitions in United States, Turkey and Iran. Currently she is back to Graduate school to continue her education in UNLV Master of Fine Arts program.

Much of her previous works involved traditional mediums exploring both psychological states and sociological roles. This was accomplished thru her figurative portrayal of women in sparse, mute and to some extent artificial spaces. Being inspired by both old masters and contemporary artists, Sharif-pour connects her paintings to the surrounding space through juxtaposing imagery and actual objects. This creates a new concept which wouldn’t exist without a re-defined relationship between two (or more) normal imageries or objects forming an uncanny or unfamiliar situation in juxtaposition.
More recently, she is expanding her themes across different mediums, such as installation and sculpture.

Ali Fathollahi
Tehran-Iran, Las Vegas-United States

Fathollahi holds a B.A. in Visual communication/Graphic Design and M.F.A. in Illustration/Fine Arts from Azad University of Art and Architecture in Tehran/Iran. He has participated in 45 group and solo exhibitions in United States, Turkey and Iran during 18 years of his career. He has joined the UNLV Masters of Fine Arts program since Fall 2016.

In his collage, assemblage and sculptures, images and objects become new characters and are embedded in a new space through adding layers of drawing and re-painting. Besides mentioned mediums, Fathollahi has explored connection between human figure and the surrounding space through various other mediums, such as installation and performance.

In the past Four years, 3-dimenssional works have been the dominant focus of Fathollahi’s works. In his most recent projects, video, light, motion, reflection, shadow, noise and smell are added factors that challenge the viewers’ perception about psychological, sociological, cultural and political matters.

Artwork List
Title: “The last person who goes to sleep”
Dimensions: Variable
Media: Mixed Media
Date: January 2017
Note: This work available as installation or painting

Title: “Hearing a Mirror” installation with “Afterimage” & “Shadow”
Dimensions: Variable
Media: Mixed Media
Date: January 2017
Note: It is OK to pull the drawers to look at inside! The “Hearing a Mirror” set (not including “Shadow”, the dress) is available as a whole, or 2-Dimensional and 3-Dimensional pieces separately.

Title: “Afterimage”
Dimensions: 48” X 48”
Media: Oil on Canvas
Date: December 2016

Title: “Shadow” (the dress)
Dimensions: Variable
Media: Ready-made Textile and Fabric
Date: Unknown

Title: “Parallel”
Dimensions: Variable
Media: Mixed Media
Date: January 2017
Note: Available as a set, or only the mirror.

Links
https://www.instagram.com/nandasharifpour/
https://www.instagram.com/ali_fathollahiali/

William Ruller: “Lowland”

Exhibition Information
Location: Fine Arts Gallery on the CSN North Las Vegas Campus
Dates: Friday, February 10 – Saturday, March 18, 2017
Artist Talk: Thursday, February 9, at 6 p.m. (room H207)
Artist Reception: Friday, February 10, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Artist Statement
The abandoned mills and tanneries of my youth and the dilapidated areas of metropolitan and rural sites, with its rust grey tones inform the visual and aesthetic language present in my work. These residual sites serve as the foundation for the work, which allows for a reinterpretation of the space into abstracted images.

Biography
William M. Ruller, Born in Gloversville NY, 1981 received a B.A. in painting and ceramics from the State University of New York at Plattsburgh in 2007. Following his undergraduate degree, Ruller moved to Oregon where he worked as a production potter and ceramics instructor. In 2014 he received is MFA from the Savannah College of Art and Design. Ruller has exhibited nationally in numerous group and solo exhibitions. He has also taught for the College of Charleston along with the Savannah College of Art and Design in Lacoste France. Ruller currently resides in Upstate New York.

Artwork List
Title: Fuse Box I
Media: Oil, Clay and Charcoal on Paper
Dimensions: 72” x 53”
Date: 2016

Title: Fuse Box II
Media: Oil, Clay and Charcoal on Paper
Dimensions: 72” x 53”
Date: 2016

Title: Fuse Box III
Media: Oil, Clay and Charcoal on Paper
Dimensions: 72” x 52”
Date: 2016

Title: Dock
Media: Oil and Clay on Paper
Dimensions: 72” x 52”
Date: 2015

Title: Book I
Media: Photo Transfer and Clay in Book
Dimensions: 17” x 24”
Date: 2013

Title: Book II
Media: Oil and Clay Embedded Book
Dimensions: 17” x 24”
Date: 2014

Title: Book III
Media: Oil and Clay Embedded Book
Dimensions: 17” x 24”
Date: 2013

Title: Book IV
Media: Oil and Clay Embedded Book
Dimensions: 17” x 24”
Date: 2016

Title: Funerary I
Media: Oil, Clay and Coffee on Paper
Dimensions: 52” x 98”
Date: 2013

Title: Funerary II
Media: Oil, Clay and Pastel on Paper
Dimensions: 52” x 91”
Date: 2013

Title: Funerary IV
Media: Oil and Clay on Paper
Dimensions: 52” x 75”
Date: 2013

Title: Funerary X
Media: Oil, Clay and Pastel on Paper
Dimensions: 52” x 102”
Date: 2013

Title: Glove Theater
Media: Oil, Clay and Charcoal on Paper
Dimensions: 72” x 210”
Date: 2016

Links
William Ruller Homepage
Arts 4 Nevada