2010-2011 Visiting Artist Lecture Series

Michael Sherwin

September 2, 2010

Using the mediums of photography, video and installation, Michael Sherwin makes art that reflects on the experience of observing nature through the lenses of science and popular culture. He has won numerous grants and awards for his work, and has been exhibited widely, including recent shows at CEPA Gallery in Buffalo, New York, SPACES Gallery in Cleveland, Ohio, PUNCH Gallery in Seattle, Washington, and the Center for Emerging Visual Artists in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Sherwin earned a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Oregon in 2004, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from The Ohio State University in 1999. He has been a member of the faculty at institutions including, the University of Oregon and Central Washington University. Currently he is an Assistant Professor of Photography and Intermedia at West Virginia University.

N ate Larson
September 23, 2010

Nate Larson is a full-time faculty member at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. His work with photographic media, artist books and narrative video has been widely exhibited across the US and internationally. Numerous publications have reviewed and published his projects, including "Exposure", "Art Papers", "The New York Times" and "Afterimage." He has received grants from the Ultimate Eye Foundation in California; Visual Studies Workshop in New York; the Banff Centre for the Arts in Alberta, Canada; the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and the Illinois Arts Council. Larson earned a Master of Fine Arts from the Ohio State University in 2002, and a Bachelor of Arts from Purdue University in 2000. He was recently elected to the Board of Directors for the Society for Photographic Education.

Mark Crabtree & Betty Rivard
October 7, 2010

The focus of this presentation is on the 75th anniversary of the FSA photographs that were taken in West Virginia between 1935 and 1943, with a particular emphasis on the trip by Walker Evans to northern WV in June-July 1935. The presentation will include music performed by local musicians who are connected with the times. Rivard is a professional fine art landscape photographer who lives in Braxton County.  She has completed a book titled "Images of Resilience: New Deal Photographs in West Virginia - 1935-43" and has written articles for "Goldenseal" and "Wonderful West Virginia" magazines. She has WVU graduate degrees in Education and Social Work. Crabtree is a professional photographer and musician who lives in Morgantown. He has been researching Evans' 1935 trip to West Virginia over the past fifteen years. Crabtree graduated from WVU with a degree in Journalism. 

Bill Gilbert
October 28, 2010

Bill Gilbert has served on the faculty in the Department of Art and Art History at the University of New Mexico since 1988 where he holds the Lannan Endowed Chair as director of the Land Arts of the American West program. Gilbert is also the co-founder of the new Art & Ecology emphasis in studio art and has recently been appointed as Senior Associate Dean for Research of the College of Fine Arts. Gilbert has exhibited his place based, mixed media installation and video works internationally since 1981. He received a Lila Wallace Arts International Grant in 1994 to work with the Quichua people of Ecuador and has curated numerous exhibitions and written essays regarding the work of indigenous artists from the US Pueblos, Juan Mata Ortiz Mexico, and Pastaza, Ecuador.

E rika Osborne
November 4, 2010

Erika Osborne received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Utah in painting and drawing and her Master of Fine Arts from the University of New Mexico. Erika's artwork deals directly with cultural connections to place and environment. She has exhibited extensively nationally and internationally, with six solo exhibitions and over 30 group exhibitions in recent years. Erika has also been the recipient of numerous grants and awards, locally, nationally and internationally. Her work has been highlighted in regional publications along with national art magazines such as "Art Papers", "Sculpture Magazine" and "Southwest Art Magazine".  

X iaoze Xie
January 20, 2011

Xiaoze Xie received his Master of Fine Art degrees from the Central Academy of Arts & Design in Beijing and the University of North Texas. His 2004 solo at Charles Cowles was reviewed in "The New York Times", "Art in America" and "Art Asia Pacific". More recent shows have been reviewed in "Chicago Tribune", "The Globe and Mail" and "San Francisco Chronicle". His work is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art and the Arizona State University Art Museum. Xie received the Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant in 2003 and artist awards from Phoenix Art Museum in 1999 and Dallas Museum of Art in 1996. Xie is the Paul L. & Phyllis Wattis Professor of Art at Stanford University.  

Ay umi Horie
February 24, 2011

Ayumi Horie received her Bachelor of Arts from Mount Holyoke College in 1991, her Bachelor of Fine Arts in ceramics from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University in 1996, and her Master of Fine Arts in ceramics from the University of Washington in 2000. Ayumi has taught workshops and given lectures at many universities, art centers and residencies in the U.S. and abroad, including the Archie Bray Foundation, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Greenwich House Pottery, Penland School of Crafts, Peter’s Valley, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, the Northern Clay Center, and the International Ceramic Research Center in Denmark. Since 2004, she has been on the board of directors at the Archie Bray Foundation, where she was a resident for two years between 1996 and 1998. Her work is in various collections throughout the US. 

Michael Mercil 

March 10, 2011 | Deem Distinguished Lecture

Michael Mercil is Chair of Graduate Studies and an Associate Professor in the Department of Art at The Ohio State University. His artwork has recently been exhibited at the Socrates Sculpture Park, NYC, Columbus Museum of Art, the North Dakota Museum of Art, the Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia, and the University of Virginia Art Museum. In 2006, he planted "The Beanfield" at the Wexner Center--a project of the OSU Department of Art Living Culture Initiative. In 2008, he converted "The Beanfield" into "The Virtual Pasture", where he now is raising a flock of Shetland sheep. Mercil's public commissions include the Allegheny Riverfront Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Teardrop Park in New York City, both with artist Ann Hamilton and landscape architect Michael Van Valkenburgh. His awards include a Batelle Endowment for Technology and Human Affairs Research Award, Columbus Museum of Contemporary Art, Columbus Genius Award, Jerome Foundation Visual Arts Fellowship, a McKnight Foundation Visual Arts Fellowship, a National Endowment for the Arts Artist Design Fellowship, Ohio Arts Council Fellowships, and a Progressive Architecture Citation Award. 

R ichard Gleason & Chris Jones
April 7, 2011

Richard Gleason is a New York designer, photographer and art director. His clients include Jones Apparel Group, which includes Anne Klein and Rachel Roy lines, Ocean Star Apparel, Tommy Hilfiger, Surf/Bicycle/Run and other identity, web and print clients. He graduated with a Bachelor or Fine Arts in graphic design and printmaking from WVU. His experimental typography combined with innovative photographic techniques result in sensational imagery.Chris Jones, WVU graphic design alumnus, is a partner in Mediaworks, llc and owner of Kidtropolis in Alexandria, VA. The award-winning studio works for E*TRADE, Johnson & Johnson, Comcast, AOL and Reuters among others. Innovative projects from this versatile company has at times turned into businesses on their own, such as Kidtropolis. Custom fantasy furniture and interiors for kids through teens has allowed Chris to mix his interest in sculpture and product design with functional environments. 

J. Bernard Schultz Lecture in Art History