Art works of UAH faculty selected for statewide exhibition

Art works by University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) Art & Art History Department faculty members have been selected for a juried show at the Tennessee Valley Museum of Art in Tuscumbia.

"Art of the State," opens with a free reception from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 22 and continues through Friday, March 2. The body of work then travels to museums in Troy and Gadsden. The show features pieces by 27 full and part-time studio-art faculty from two and four year colleges and universities in Alabama.

Works by UAH art faculty members Marin Abell, Jose Betancourt, Brandon Gardner and Kathryn Johnson are included in "Art of the State."

Kathryn Johnson is an associate professor of painting and drawing at UAH. She received her bachelor of fine arts from the University of South Florida and her master of fine arts from the University of Georgia. She has exhibited throughout the U.S. including the ARC Gallery in Chicago, Cooper Union School of Art in New York, the Columbus Museum of Art, the Georgia Museum of Art and the Huntsville Museum of Art and is part of the viewing program at the Drawing Center in New York City. Her work Snoop-n-Sniff is mixed media on paper.

José Betancourt teaches photography at UAH. He received his bachelor of arts from the University of South Florida and his master of fine arts degree from the City University of New York - Hunter College. Aside from his teaching duties, Betancourt judges photography competitions, artists' grants and also exhibits his work nationally and internationally. His current project is a traveling exhibit with the artist Susan Weil entitled "Blueprints." His This Is Not a Rocket, a cyanotype on paper, is included in the exhibition.

Brandon Gardner is an assistant professor of art at UAH, teaching printmaking. He graduated from the University of Southern Indiana with a bachelor of science degree and completed graduate studies at Texas Tech University. He founded Mad Cracker Press and co-founded the Bastards of Printmaking Society. Over the past few years, he has shown his work nationally and internationally and has organized and exhibited an exchange folio called the History of the United States. His entry is entitled Super Friends, a screen print.

Marin Abell a visiting assistant professor in the sculpture department at UAH, holds a bachelor of fine arts in sculpture from James Madison University and a master of fine art in sculpture and expanded practice from Ohio University. He is an educator and trans disciplinary artist who works both collectively and individually. His creative practices often take the form of sculptural events that explore individual and cultural identities. He has participated in numerous residencies, exhibited across the country and served as director of outreach at Spiro Arts in Park City, Utah. He has taught at various institutions of higher education. He is exhibiting Becoming Hole, Becoming Whole and Self Portrait with Stable in photography and fabric.

Tennessee Valley Museum of Art (TVAA) hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday-Friday, and 1 p.m. to-3 p.m., on Sundays. Admission is $5 adults, $3 children, Sundays free; members free and group rates are available Mondays through Saturdays. TVAA is located at 511 North Water Street in Tuscumbia.

For more details about the "Art of the State" exhibit, please call  256.383.0533 or visit tvaa.net.

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