The Baum Art Gallery welcomed its new exhibit, Painting, on Thursday, which is the first painting exhibition the gallery’s welcomed in five years.
The exhibit features 10 artists, including Tessa Davidson, Wade Hampton, Matt Kloss, Ryan Brehlming, Tim Stone, Lisa Krannichseld, Phoebe Deasley, Dean Mitchell and Joan Waltemath.
“What inspired it was a conversation I had with a professor of painting here who mentioned we hadn’t had a painting exhibition in about five years,” art director Brian Young said.
The Baum Art Gallery has not had a traditional painting exhibit since 2017. Young and the professor discussed this, leading to the production of the new painting exhibit.
“I asked her if we were to do a painting show who would you like to see and she gave me some names. I mixed her artists with some artists I’ve worked with and like and combined the two of them. I then worked to secure the paintings from the different artists,” Young said.
The exhibit will be in the Baum Art Gallery until February 17, 2022. More exhibits are expected soon after the closure of Painting.
“On March 3rd, we’ll have the annual Student Art Competitive. Then on April 7th, we have the BA/BFA exhibition, which is for our graduating seniors from the art and design department,” Young said.
Hosting these exhibitions gives the opportunity to share art that helps cultivate our culture on campus. The opportunity to have the gallery and ability to learn and experience new art is a fundamental part of our university.
“By the very nature of what we put on view is a cultural offering, which in our case is showing the visual arts. Visual arts are a cultural offering, almost by definition,” Young said.
Not only does it help cultivate our culture, it gives the opportunity to see art that would otherwise not be seen by those who go to the gallery.
“Exhibits such as this often expose the community to fresh ideas and trends that otherwise must be sought out. There are not many opportunities to see artwork of this caliber in our area,” Sandra Luckett, University of Central Arkansas art professor, said.
It’s important to not only the culture it creates for our campus, but very important for our students who study the arts.
“I do not think that any one form of art making is superior to another, so I would most like to see a steady rotation of art mediums and processes presented in our gallery. It is important for our art students to see a variety of contemporary art that can help inform the concepts that they are studying in their classes,” Luckett said.
The Baum is receiving entries for the Student Art Competitive up until February 24. The Baum is open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m., and Thursday from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. The gallery is located in the west wing of McCastlain Hall.
