Art Museum announces new staff, new exhibition
The Miami University Art Museum staff is excited to begin the 2021-2022 academic year with a new Director, a new Preparator/Building Manager and a new exhibition.
New Director
Dr. John (Jack) D.M. Green arrived at Miami University on August 2 as the new Jeffrey Horrell ‘75 & Rodney Rose Director and Chief Curator of the Miami University Art Museum (MUAM). Green comes to MUAM from the American Center of Research (ACOR) where he served as the Associate Director.
New Building Manager / Preparator
David Dotson rejoined the Art Museum team on June 1 as the new Preparator and Building Manager. He earned his MFA and BA in Sculpture at Miami. Dotson previously worked at the Art Museum as an Assistant Preparator and head of Security.
New Exhibition
In collaboration with the Department of Art, MUAM is pleased to present this exhibition. Every four years, this exhibition provides current and emeritus faculty, along with alumni from the past 50 years, with the opportunity to showcase work created since 2017.
After a year and a half of limited viewing, Miami University Art Museum (MUAM) opened its doors fully (with masks) for this quadrennial exhibition without the need to make a reservation so that art lovers can again freely engage with art in person. Also without reservation, faculty (current and emeritus) along with alumni had been busy creating new works and conducting original research for their contributions to this exhibition. Some artists and scholars responded to the world-wide pandemic, while others sought refuge through an introspective lens or reflected on the impact of other external forces. Not only does this represent the diversity of featured works, but also the very nature of artistic and scholarly creation – a response.
The 55 individuals featured in this exhibition were given the opportunity to freely express themselves without the requirement of responding to a predetermined theme. Sixty-four pieces in this exhibition deliver an array of topics and meanings, through diverse forms, materials and presentation. As a result, the assemblage of work offers great depth. Each piece invites the viewer to look deep into personal and collective interpretations, and what it may say about the artist or scholar and the time in which it was created.
In organizing this exhibition, submissions by current faculty, emeritus faculty and alumni are not paired by the artist’s affiliation with Miami University. Pieces are interwoven and arranged according to known or perceived contexts, as well as evident imagery, thus playing pieces off one another to inspire viewers to see connections. Arranging an exhibition of this format is akin to taking 64 puzzle pieces, each from a different puzzle, and assembling them to make a composite image. The result is an artistic and exploratory investigation of the creative spirit by the diverse and talented art faculty and alumni at Miami University.
The alumni were selected by current and emeritus faculty and invited to participate. Alumni works were juried for this exhibition by Robert Robbins, Chair, Department of Art, Miami University (Oxford); Jason E. Shaiman, Miami University Art Museum; Sherri Krazl, Miami University Art Museum; and Laura Stewart, Miami University Art Museum. Combined, this exhibition presents 64 works of art created by 12 current faculty, 4 emeritus faculty and 39 alumni.
Special appreciation is extended to Rob Robbins, Chair of the Department of Art for his collaboration. Additional recognition goes out to Logan Bowers, Curatorial Intern (Spring 2021), for her work in the planning and designing of the exhibition. We also offer sincere gratitude to Cassidy Gebhart, undergraduate Communication Design major, Department of Art, for designing the title logo and catalog for the exhibition.
Featured artists:
Current Faculty: Stephanie Baer | Stephanie Danker | Tracy Featherstone | Della Reams | Geoffrey Riggle | Robert Robbins | Dana Saulnier | Michael Stillion | Todd Stuart | Roscoe Wilson | Jennifer Yamashiro | Jon Yamashiro
Emeritus Faculty: Larry Winston Collins | Susan R. Ewing | Jeannie Langan Heins | Robert Wolfe
Alumni: Lorene Anderson | Andrea Barone | Erin Beckloff | Gary Beeber | Jeremy Blair | Jan C. Boone | Eric Scott England | Katherine J. Fries | Ann M. Gorbett | William E. Greene | Lucille A. Hautau | Tara Hayes | Pamela L. Hignite | David B. Johnson | Sarojini Jha Johnson | Kristen I. Ledbetter | Travis Linville | Susan Lynn Mahan | Thomas Maltbie | Michael May | Kim McAnnich | Robert Lee Mejer | Majorie Morrow | Todd Mosley | Tim L. Parsley | Carrie E. Pate | Joseph Paushel | Julia Marie Pawlowski | Jill Sarver | Michael Seeley | Billy Simms | Alison A. Smith | Sherry Rogers Stoffer | Nicole Trimble | Jean Brandow Vance | Austin Wieland | Mark Williams | Ben Willis | Stephen Wolochowicz
