Bradbury Gallery presents Spring 2008 Senior Exhibit, May 1-10

April 28, 2008 -- The Bradbury Gallery, located in Arkansas State University’s Fowler Center, 201 Olympic Drive, Jonesboro, will host the Spring 2008 Senior Exhibition with an opening reception on Thursday, May 1, at 5 pm. The exhibition will feature nine seniors from the ASU Department of Art: Eileen Bristol; Angelina Chiodini; Karen DeBaun; Elizabeth Flaga; Elizabeth Kraus; Andrea Mary; Richard Taylor; Lenna Woods; and Christopher Young. Work in this exhibition from these artists will include drawings, prints, paintings, photographs, mixed media objects, and video projection. The exhibition closes Saturday, May 10. The exhibition and the opening reception are free and open to the public.

Eileen Bristol, who was born in Seattle, Wa., has studied and practiced art for several decades.  During her long, accomplished career as an artist and art student, she has participated in the College of Fine Arts’ summer study abroad program in Florence, Italy; she has exhibited her artwork in the ASU Fine Arts Center Gallery, and she has been active as a photographer and painter. She has traveled widely, returning with images and ideas to use in her work. Bristol  states, “I explore the places I have been and their effect on my life…In the painting series, I both remember and exalt my life’s most cherished places and events. The Grand Canyon and Sienna, Italy, have left overwhelming impressions upon me…I layer images of Kwajalein Island (in the Marshall Islands) and the moon with images of the civilized world. These worlds collide. The inherent beauty of these places changes and become polluted.”

Angelina Chiodini, from Heber Springs, will receive her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in May.  While at ASU, she participated in the College of Fine Arts’ summer study abroad program at the Florence University of the Arts. In discussing her artworks, she claims, “Each of these pieces represent a deep personal thought or feeling, and whether these thoughts or feelings are seen as beautiful or hideous, I wish to share them with you.” After graduation, Chiodini plans to attend Memphis College of Art to pursue her graduate studies.

Karen DeBaun, originally from Michigan, currently lives in Hickory Ridge. She will graduate in May with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with an emphasis in photography. During her tenure as a student at ASU, DeBaun also studied music. In her artist’s statement DeBaun writes, “Gradually, I became aware of the world around me. Nature drew me like a magnet. There was the beauty of it, the mystery, the feeling of being close to God.” She continues, “Through my photographs, I hope others will feel the awe that they fill me with. Nature gives a sense of order to life.” She plans to continue with her photography in her portrait studio.

Elizabeth Flaga is an Illinois native who moved to Paragould in 2002. She will be graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in May.  While at ASU, she also studied at Lorenzo d’ Medici and Studio Art Centers International in Florence, Italy. Flaga has shown her work in three juried student exhibitions, and she has exhibited in the 2007 Art Frames Etc. Gallery holiday exhibit in Jonesboro and in the 2007 Helena Juried Watercolor Exhibition.  Flaga received several scholarships, participated in a study in Egypt (funded by a Middle Eastern Studies Grant), and was on the ASU Dean’s and Chancellor’s Lists. Flaga says of her artwork, “I explore the body in an emotional and dramatic way. My work is figurative, which I find to be the most expressive form.”  After graduating she will relocate to Italy, where she will further her studies in the arts.

Elizabeth Kraus was born in Little Rock and now lives in Jonesboro. She loves to travel and studied at the Florence University of the Arts in Florence, Italy, in the College of Fine Arts’ summer study abroad program. Those studies and her subsequent travels in Europe introduced her to photography, and she will receive her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with honors and an emphasis in both drawing and photography. Kraus states, “Since I draw directly from my photographs, I pay close attention to linear arrangements that appear in a shot. I am attracted to vibrant colors, harsh shadows, and intense contrast. It is always a sure thing that I can find these elements in nature, which is one of my favorite subjects to photograph and draw.”

Andrea Mary is from Roland. She will graduate with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in studio art with honors. Her emphasis is in drawing and painting, but she also has an interest in printmaking. She is a recipient of the University Honors Scholarship and had her work selected for inclusion in the 2008 Delta National Small Prints Exhibition. In her artwork, she has “been exploring the effects that cropped and fragmented images can have on the viewer.” Mary says, “I enjoy the ambiguity created by depicting only parts of the subject matter as well as the intimacy formed by portraying an enclosed space. By showing a portion of a subject, my work allows the viewer to see the formal qualities of an object.”  After graduation, she will live in Little Rock.

Richard Taylor currently lives in Paragould and will graduate in May with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in studio art with an emphasis in sculpture. He received Department of Art scholarships from fall 2004 through spring 2007 and has been listed on the President’s and Dean’s Lists. In 2007, he participated in the College of Fine Arts’ summer study abroad program at the Florence University of the Arts in Italy. Taylor says of his two-dimensional work, “My favorite works of art have always been those that convey the highest degree of realism. Although I appreciate and enjoy viewing all styles of well-executed artwork, it is the realists that capture my attention and greatest admiration.” He continues, “My three dimensional work is more diverse in style. The openness of the medium allows me to go in many different directions.  Whether I am constructing a mechanically operated piece or creating pieces that honor people, or lampoon those people that I feel deserve it, the freedom of the medium is both stimulating and challenging.” He plans to attend ASU in the fall to begin work on a Master of Art degree in sculpture.

Lenna Woods, a resident of Jonesboro, will earn her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with a studio emphasis in photography and a certification to teach art. While at ASU, she was on both the Dean’s and Chancellor’s Lists; she attended the College of Fine Arts’ summer abroad program at the Florence University of the Arts in Italy in 2005 and was selected for inclusion in the 2006, 2007, and the 2008 Juried Student Exhibitions held in the Fine Arts Center Gallery.  Woods is a member of the ASU Art Education Club, the Arkansas Art Education Association, and the National Art Education Association. She comments, “Photography is a means from which I am able to show ordinary things in new contexts….I am fascinated by both light and movement and the ability to capture them on film.”  Woods plans to pursue a career in both art education and fine art photography.

Christopher Young, a native of Little Rock, will graduate in May with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in studio art with an emphasis in drawing and painting. He is a member and past chairman of the Little Rock chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) youth council; he has been a member of the ASU United Voices gospel choir, and he has exhibited his artwork at the Edge Coffee House in Jonesboro and at the Little Rock African American Art Show at the Art Forum. He was also accepted in the ASU Juried Student Exhibition five times and was awarded Best in Show in 2003. In his artist’s statement, Young says, “My landscapes show a brief moment of nature where time and space seem to literally dissolve, leaving you with glimpses of beauty while capturing the supreme reign of nature over mankind.”

The Bradbury Gallery’s hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 12 noon to 5 p.m. and from 2-5 p.m. on Sunday. The gallery is closed on Monday. For more information, contact the Bradbury Gallery at (870) 972-2567, or e-mail Les Christensen, director of the Bradbury Gallery, at lchristensen@astate.edu.

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