Giertz Gallery at Parkland College is proud to present the 2016 Parkland College Art and Design Faculty Exhibition, opening Monday, August 22nd.
An opening reception for the artists will take place Thursday, Sept. 1, from 5 to 7 p.m. and will include a gallery talk by Seif, art history and metalsmithing professor and Parkland Art Department program director, as well as live music by the Sam Peters Trio.
In addition, Shaw, associate professor of photography and video and Parkland’s 2016 Outstanding Faculty Award recipient, will provide an artist lecture about her work on Wednesday, Sept. 7 at noon in the gallery.
Seif calls her work in this year’s faculty exhibition a continuation of her explorations in metals; she will describe her work further during the Sept. 1 gallery talk.
“I tend to have a couple of directions in my work: one that is formal, often with inspirations from nature and my observations and a second that is more personal and influenced by family and circumstances,” Seif said. “Sometimes, these two directions overlap, as is true with this year’s work. The Micro Series initially started with thinking about growing cultures in petri dishes with my Dad, and then doing this over the summer with my daughter. The petri dish influenced the circle format and the scale for many of the pieces in this series.”
Shaw teaches digital photography, darkroom photography, video production and photography portfolio classes in the Art and Design program. In March, Parkland’s Professional Development Subcommittee for Faculty selected her as its 2016 Illinois Community College Trustees Association Outstanding Full-Time Faculty Award for Parkland. A member of Parkland’s faculty since 2007, Shaw helped establish the school’s Educational Video Center (now PCTV) and was part of the team that initiated distance learning efforts at Parkland. In addition to developing the popular Photography AAS degree, she has created various courses related to photography and video production.
Shaw received her BFA degree in painting from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and her MFA degree at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her photography has been exhibited nationally and has won numerous awards in both photography and video, including fellowships from the Illinois Arts Council and the Arts Midwest/National Education Association Regional.
The 2016 Art and Design Faculty exhibition and reception are free and open to the public.
Fall gallery hours are Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday, noon to 2 p.m. The gallery will be closed Monday, Sept. 5 for Labor Day. To find the gallery when classes are in session, we suggest using the M6 parking lot on the north corner of the campus. Enter through door X7, turn left, and follow the ramps uphill to the highest point of the first floor, where the gallery is located. The gallery windows overlook the outdoor fountain area.
This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency. Parkland is a section 504/ADA-compliant institution. For accommodation, call 217/351-2505.
[Image: Denise Seif, Micro Series, 2015, 2.5” x 2.5”, copper and enamel]