June 25, 2007

Graduate students' art on display in St. Louis

by Andrea Hahn

CARBONDALE, Ill. — Works by three Southern Illinois University Carbondale graduate students in the School of Art and Design are part of a limited, juried exhibit in a new St. Louis art gallery this summer.

Kevin Curry of Carbondale, John Edward "Trey" Gossett III, of Leawood, Kan., and David Linneweh of Roselle, are included in Fast Times at White Flags, an exhibition of "promising student artists" selected by a jury of area art professionals.

Matthew Strauss, director, said the three artists are among a total of seven selected from among 120 submissions from 12 St. Louis area colleges and universities including SIUC.

"For three of the seven artists to be from SIUC is something," he said, adding that an opening night reception earlier this month "went very well" and that the work seemed well received.

Linneweh said he was honored to be included in the juried exhibition. "In the arts, I feel that it all comes down to self-motivation and actively trying to get your work seen by others," he said. "I really learned how to pursue opportunities throughout my undergraduate degree at Illinois State University. SIUC has helped me to make more professional work that balances aesthetic and formal components within the artwork."

Curry and Gossett recently won an $8,780 Graduate Technology Enhancement grant from the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and the Graduate Dean.

Jurors for the exhibition were Paul Ha, director of The Contemporary Art Museum in St. Louis, Katrina Hallowell, Bearden Fellow at the St. Louis Art Museum, Olivia Lahs-Gonzales, director and curator of The Sheldon Galleries in St. Louis, and artist Erik Spehn, whose work is currently part of an exhibit at Philip Slein Gallery in St. Louis. The exhibit continues through July 1.

White Flag Projects, a not-for-profit alternative art gallery, is at 4568 Manchester Ave. in St. Louis. The gallery is a renovated industrial building with more than 2,000 square feet of exhibition space featuring ceiling heights of up to 22 feet. For more information, call them at 314/531-3442 or log on to www.whiteflagproductions.org.