'Softly Bound' features three-dimensional works of Horowitz, Martin

Jan. 8, 2008 -- “Softly Bound,” a two-person exhibition featuring works by Etty Horowitz and Joyce Martin, will be on display Tuesday, Jan. 15 through Friday, Feb. 15, at the Arkansas State University Fine Arts Center Gallery, 114 S. Caraway, Jonesboro. An opening reception will be held Tuesday, Jan. 15, from 5–6:30 p.m.

“Softly Bound” includes three-dimensional works by both Horowitz and Martin that address multiple aspects of femininity through tangible materials and visual and intellectual concepts. The works both acknowledge and reject archetypes of the woman and her socially imposed identity as a representation of ideal beauty, exploring female objectification and women’s roles in various social constructs. Each artist makes use of industrial materials to transform naturally hard-edged materials into curvaceous, organic, and feminine forms. In addition to the three-dimensional forms created, Horowitz and Martin also explore ideas of shadows and the additional visual and/or psychological information they might contain.

Etty Horowitz lives and works in Arlington, Texas, where she is a professional artist and architect. She received an MFA in sculpture from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas, and a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa. She has also studied at the Royal College of Art in London and at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Horowitz has served as an adjunct professor of design at Texas Christian University and as an art instructor at the Arlington Museum of Art. Recent honors include fellowships at the Vermont Studio Center in 2006, 2004, and 2003; and a second place award at the 2004 International Sculpture Symposium in Israel.

Joyce Martin lives in Fort Worth, Texas, where she works as an artist and art teacher. She received a BFA in printmaking and photography from the University of Texas at Arlington and has participated in numerous professional conferences sponsored by Texas Commission on the Arts and the Texas Association of Museums. Martin served as artist-in-residence at the Arlington Museum of Art for its children’s art initiative in 2002, and then joined the museum staff as the education coordinator. Recent awards include the third place and people’s choice awards at the 39 Hour Show, presented by the Fort Worth Community Arts Center in 2004, and an award of excellence at the 6^th Annual Manhattan Arts International Competition in 1997.

The exhibition and reception are free and open to the public. The Fine Arts Center Gallery is open from 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday through Friday. For additional information, contact the Department of Art at (870) 972-3050.

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