Biennial “Faculty Exhibition” coming to Nightingale Gallery

Nov. 1, 2022

Biennial “Faculty Exhibition” coming to Nightingale Gallery

LA GRANDE, Ore. – The Nightingale Gallery of Eastern Oregon University is pleased to present our biennial “Faculty Exhibition.” The exhibition gives a glimpse into the recent studio practices of EOU’s Art Department faculty. 

The exhibit opens on Monday, November 14 at 11 a.m. and will be on display until December 15. A reception and gallery talk by the artists will be held on Friday, November 18 from 5-7 p.m.

This exhibit is a showcase for the studio work recently created by the members of the EOU Art department. On view will be a collection of works by professors Susan Murrell, Cory Peeke, Nathan Prouty and visiting assistant professor Josh Raftery.

Susan Murrell will be presenting aspects of her larger installation “if water had its way.” Murrell’s work investigates an expanding concept of landscape as our perspective continues to shift amid the climate crisis.

“This installation is a meditation on the dynamic relationship between water in all its states, land and culture. Water functions as a sculptor of our planet and the primary component of our bodies, making it a potent symbol in rites of birth, life, and death,” said Murrell “This painting-centric installation explores inertia and equilibrium as our concept of and role in the landscape continues to shift amid the climate crisis.”

Cory Peeke will exhibit a selection of his newest mixed-media collages. Peeke’s works employ the use of a variety of adhesive tapes, charcoal and found images to explore aspects of memory and anxiety. 

Peeke states “My work is a study in anxiety and control, impermanence and obscurity. They are manifestations of my relationship to the imprecision of memory. The memories that we hold on to and the memories that hold on to us.”

Nathan Prouty’s research revolves around the history and baggage of craft and popular culture, while exploring ideas about the American Dream and its associated victory culture, angst, mementos, memories and our collective longing for -and self-sabotaging of- progress. Prouty’s current body of work is an attempt to harness the power and anxiety of a world full of uncertainties. 

“My sculptures are packaged in slick, colorful, concentrated bundles which nod to the knick-knack and the souvenir,” says Prouty “I attempt to both mask and reveal my unease with the world and culture around me from behind a disarming disguise of foolishness.”

Josh Raftery’s current photographic work utilizes antiquated photographic processes to examine the relationships between loss and memory, and religion and science. Through mixed media, found objects, photography and storytelling, Raftery’s current work is autobiographical – creating a narrative of dystopia and uncertainty. 

“This coming together of our otherwise solo studio practices is always an interesting experiment,” said Cory Peeke, Professor of Art and Director of the Nightingale Gallery. “It allows both ourselves and our audiences to make connections between the work, the processes with which we engage and concepts we explore.” 

For more information, follow the Nightingale Gallery on Facebook and Instagram @nightingale_gallery.

To request images of artwork for publication or to schedule an interview with the artists please contact Gallery Director Cory Peeke at cpeeke@eou.edu.