Exhibition celebrates Art + Design faculty
This month, Utah State University’s Department of Art + Design faculty is taking their talent from the classroom to the Daryl Chase Fine Arts Center in their very own gallery. From now until Jan. 22, the USU Art + Design Biennial Faculty Exhibition is on display at The Tippetts & Eccles Galleries, highlighting the artistic endeavors and research work of the department’s faculty and staff.
Taking place every other year, this month-long exhibition is completely free and open to the public. The galleries, which are located on the second floor of the fine arts center, house the display. Having debuted on Jan. 12, the exhibition is currently accessible to students and community members every weekday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. It celebrates creative work from nearly every member of the department faculty. According to Kathy Puzey, Art + Design department head, it’s a striking example of the creative diversity and broad range of its contributors.
“It’s faculty from all disciplines. You have designers, you have studio artists, we have ceramics,” Puzey said in an interview with The Utah Statesman.
Covering everything from pottery to printmaking, faculty members were given the freedom to submit any creative work they wanted to display, resulting in a collection that spans a multitude of subject matters and mediums.
“We’re all different makers and our research interests are also very, very diverse and different,” Puzey said.
For example, one of the many new works featured in the exhibition, created by associate professor of photography Fazilat Soukhakian, is a piece that aims to make a powerful statement about the unspoken stigma of the female body.
“This work feels very different from what I’ve done in the past,” Soukhakian said in an interview. “It’s really about opening up a conversation around what’s been done to women throughout history and even up until today and asking why the female body has been such a taboo subject.”
The piece is one of Soukhakian’s latest projects and uses skillfully layered images and written words to convey its message.
Also featured in the gallery is a large area dedicated to the newest member of the department faculty, arts dducation professor Tamryn McDermott.
“We like to provide [new faculty members] a larger space to feature more of their work so people can get to know their research and get to know them a bit better,” Puzey said.
A wide selection of McDermott’s work is featured in its own room in the galleries, giving students and community members the opportunity to connect with the new face on campus.
In fact, university connection is to be a prominent reason behind the upkeep of the event, according to Soukhakian. She said the exhibition not only serves as an opportunity for faculty members to show off their own work, but an opportunity for staff members to enjoy and celebrate their colleagues’ achievements.
“We’re often so busy that even my colleagues right next door barely have time to talk about or share what we’re working on in depth,” Soukhakian said. “This creates a great opportunity for all of us to connect and share our work with each other, as well as with the broader university community and our students.”
Additionally, this event — as well as other exhibitions put on at the galleries — contributes to the growing number of free, accessible art installations found around USU. According to Soukhakian, the department hopes exhibitions like this one can help students and community members discover the wide array art and creative research available on campus.
“It’s amazing. The space is so thoughtfully and professionally curated,” Soukhakian said. “It’s a great spot not just for arts and design faculty and students but for the whole university and the broader Cache Valley community. It’s simply a beautiful place to spend time, to look at art, especially in today’s chaotic world. Art feels kind of necessary right now, you know? It helps calm us down and takes us into a different way of thinking.”
This was a sentiment Puzey agreed with.
“It’s a great resource for community members and also our students and those across campus to see the type of research that we conduct,” Puzey said.
On Jan. 22, the department hosted a reception at the galleries celebrating the artists’ work.