Faculty Gets Creative: New UCO Art Exhibiton
Machenzie Glass
The annual Melton Gallery Exhibition, located in the University of Central Oklahoma’s Art and Design Building, will be open to the public, free of charge, Aug. 25 to Oct. 3.
This year’s exhibition will showcase UCO’s faculty and staff, focusing on visual art pieces that highlight the practices and disciplines taught across the university, including paintings, sculpture, graphic design, interior design, and illustration.
The curator of the Melton gallery, Keri Smith, says, “This show gives our faculty the chance to flex their creative chops and allows the campus community to see just how wonderfully skilled our artists and educators are.” Smith continues, “We’re excited to welcome everyone back to campus with an incredible display of talent.”
UCO Assistant Professor of Graphic Design, Whitney VanHeuvelen, has a featured piece in the gallery, “Floral Kaleidoscope”, a mixed media laser cut painting. This artwork is intended to evoke the spirit of folk art, with the vividly painted laser-cut wood, while “inviting viewers into a playful composition of color and pattern”, VanHeuvelen describes.
VanHeuvelen encourages students and community members to attend by saying, “Being part of a university community is something truly special, and it’s important to embrace the opportunities it offers to experience fresh ideas and perspectives. This exhibition is a chance to celebrate the incredible talent within our campus art and design community and to be inspired by the creativity that surrounds us.”
In the words of VanHeuvelen, she hopes that the exhibition can encourage students to explore their own creativity beyond class assignments and to create what reflects their own voices, interests, and artistic curiosity. She says that those self-driven projects “often become the most meaningful.”
The Melton gallery is open Monday through Wednesday from noon to 5 p.m., and Friday from noon to 3 p.m., or by appointment. To learn more about the UCO College of Fine Arts and Design and to view future events and performances, visit cfad.uco.edu.