November 13, 2008

Reception welcomes three museum exhibits

by Andrea Hahn

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- A public reception at Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s University Museum ushers in three new temporary exhibits.

The reception is 4-7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 14. There is no admission charge, but there is plenty of opportunity to meet fellow art lovers and sometimes the artists as well.

The “L. Brent Kington: Mythic Metalsmith” exhibit, curated by Debra Tayes, comes to SIUC on loan from the Illinois State Museum. Museum Director Dona Bachman said the Kington exhibit has special meaning because of Kington’s connection to the University. Kington was professor of metals for the SIUC School of Art and Design for 35 years, retiring in 1996. He also served as director from 1981 to 1995. Kington’s work appears in many prestigious collections the world over. He received awards from the American Craft Council three times, including the Academy of Fellows Award. He has past fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Illinois Arts Council. Kington is “one of the most prominent 100 artists and key figures in American craft,” according to the Nanette L. Laitman Project, administered by the Archives of American Art at the Smithsonian Institute. His traveling exhibit concludes at SIUC, and remains here until March 6, when it returns to the Illinois State Museum.

The reception also honors the annual Combined Faculty Art Exhibit, featuring art presented by SIUC faculty in the School of Art and Design, the School of Architecture, and the Department of Cinema and Photography.

Not to be outdone, the students get their crack at this exhibit time as well. Art and Design students applying for the master’s of fine arts degree may preview their thesis exhibits at this time as well. This exhibit and the combined faculty run through Dec. 12.

The University Museum, located in Faner Hall, is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Friday, 1 to 4 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, closed Monday and for University observed holidays. Donations are always welcome.