The School of Visual Arts is opening a new exhibit called Visceral Tendencies.
The exhibit will be on display until May 8 in the Nona Jean Hulsey Gallery in the Norick Art Center. The opening reception will be from 5-7 p.m. Friday. The exhibit features the work of Morgan Robinson, visiting artist in residence, and will showcase his sculptures.
“The exhibit is an umbrella way to look at how I see the world,” he said. “This body of work contains all the puzzle pieces that fit under that umbrella. I look at the world and see gum-stains and oil drops on the concrete, and I take it and put it into physical form.”
Robinson said the exhibit is different from his previous work, since it is a collection he has accumulated.
“In many ways, it’s a look back of a few different threads of series involved in my work,” he said. “Usually, when I’ve had a solo show in the past, I stare at the opening date and make a different body of work for that title. In this case, I chose 35 pieces from my body of work I’ve already produced.”
He also said this exhibit is a reflection of how his work has expanded during the last decade.
“Ten years ago, I was doing furniture pieces, occasional tables and a lot of laminated plywood forms,” he said. “I mainly now do more large-scale metal forms, which are also in the show.”
After the exhibit, Robinson will finish his term with OCU and work on a new commission, which will appear in Washington, D.C.
“I was given the tasks by architects to explore a texture,” he said. “I have a power hammer. It’s a hammer at will, and I’ll be able to use that to create a variety of power textures and hammer textures. It’s a unique set up.”
As for his current exhibit, he said he hopes it will make the viewer think.
“I hope it provokes questions of the potential of the insignificant, which is where I live and thrive,” he said. “We take so many little things for granted that have so much potential.”
Marty Gibson, visual arts junior, is a student of Robinson’s and said they are excited to see his work on display.
“I’ve been wanting to see more of his work for a while, and now he’s showing it on campus,” Gibson said. “I love how he uses shapes and forms in his work and I find it really interesting.”
Shakurah Maynard, graphic design junior, said she is fascinated by Robinson’s ability to take ugly things and make them beautiful.
“I think his art reflects nature in a really cool way,” she said. “He finds these things we usually think are disgusting or ugly and makes them beautiful. I think in art today, people try to highlight the things that are ugly, which is something I’m also interested in. But I also like the idea of taking something ugly and making it beautiful in its own way.”
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