Nightingale Gallery Presents EOU Faculty Exhibition

The Nightingale Gallery begins a new year and academic term with an exhibition of works by Eastern Oregon University’s accomplished visual arts faculty.

The exhibition opens with a reception on Friday, January 11 from 6-8pm in the gallery located in Loso Hall.  The show will run through Friday, February 1. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday 11am to 4pm.

The biennial Faculty Exhibition features work from the six nationally and internationally recognized artists who make up EOU’s art department and offers a collective view of their recent creative endeavors. The integration of the each artist’s body of work into the communal space of the Nightingale Gallery allows viewers to explore visual relationships amongst the artists as well as consider the newest trends in the work of some of this area’s most dynamic and respected artists.

The six artists with works on exhibit are Professor of sculpture, Doug Kaigler; Associate Professor and Director of the Nightingale Gallery, Cory Peeke; Associate Professor of painting, Jessica Plattner; Assistant Professor of printmaking, Susan Murrell; Assistant Professor of photography, Michael Sell and Visiting Assistant Professor of ceramics Jess Riva Cooper.

Doug Kaigler will present some of his most recent sculptural works which both feature and explore the elemental materials of wood, stone and water. Cory Peeke and Jessica Plattner will each present some of their most recent collage works. Peeke’s works feature found vintage photography which through the process of collage combines with other elements to become something both fresh and familiar. Plattner’s collages depict her infant daughter in a variety of surreal settings and act as a meditation on the magical possibilities of childhood. Susan Murrell will exhibit a selection of prints made during her summer residency at the Crow Shadow Institute. The photographic portraits that Mike Sell has on view are part of his larger investigation into fictional and real selves and how the Internet enables users to fictionalize themselves in a public manner. And visiting artist Jess Riva Cooper, who is filling in for Peter Johnson while he is on sabbatical, will present a selection of her newest ceramic sculpture inspired by the literature of Yiddish folklore, science fiction, and magical realism.

“Just as we six artists have come together to create a vibrant Art program at Eastern Oregon University we have worked together to create a dynamic exhibition which explores the individual talents of each as well as the collaborative nature inherent in our close knit program,” said Cory Peeke, Nightingale Gallery Director.

For more on each individual artist and their work please visit the EOU Art program faculty webpage: https://www.eou.edu/art/faculty/.

In conjunction with the exhibit the artists will present a gallery talk about their work on Thursday, January 24 from 5-7 p.m. in Nightingale Gallery. The talk is free and open to the public.

The Nightingale Gallery is located in Loso Hall on the campus of Eastern Oregon University in La Grande, OR.  Gallery hours are Monday-Friday 11AM-4PM.  For more information please visit our website: https://www.eou.edu/art/nightingale-gallery/ or follow us on Facebook.