Gainesville Campus Exhibitions

Fall Semester 2023

Jessica Wohl: Imagining Matriarchy

August 21 – September 22, 2023 (install August 16 – 18, 2023)

In Imagining Matriarchy, Wohl envisions what a matriarchal society might feel like. Believing that this world would be so different from the one we know, the works in this exhibition exist only as abstractions. They attempt to capture an intense, complex and unapologetic feminine energy that might permeate an alternate reality where women hold the power. Quilted entirely by hand, the thousands of black, pink and blue stitches imply how certain social identity groups may be essential in unifying, or perhaps keeping the “fabric of society” held firmly together. As women are often tasked with physical, emotional and invisible labor, this exhibition uses hand-crafted, comfort-giving objects to make evident the pivotal role women’s work plays in the formation of societies and attempts to provide a glimpse into a world where that work is celebrated, valued and visible.

Department of Visual Arts Faculty Biennial

September 28 – October 27, 2023

"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up." -Pablo Picasso

This edition of the UNG Visual Arts Faculty Biennial will give everyone a glimpse of the child artist living inside our faculty. The professors will share their current work alongside examples of their earlies artistic expressions from childhood.

BFA Capstone

October 30 - December 8, 2023

Spring Semester 2023

Visual Voice

Graphic Design Juried Show

January 9 - Feb 11

Juror's Discussion via Zoom

Wednesday, January 25, 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
To join the zoom discussion, email tiffany.prater@ung.edu

The Art Galleries at the University of North Georgia is pleased to announce its first Juried Graphic Design exhibition. This exhibition aims to educate through the visual communication of professional graphic designers and graphic design educators nationwide, a wide variety of content, approach, and style in poster design.

Designers and educators submitted artworks completed within the past year reflecting the theme, Women’s Rights. This year’s juror is Meghan Murray, the Design Director at Matchstic from Atlanta, where she leads her creative team in brand design. She’s also a member of the AIGA Atlanta board, where she co-chairs the Programming committee. 

John Amoss - The Search for for the Esoteric Cruton:
A sundry collection of works over the Millennia

February 20 – March 24

Reception: Artist talk and reception: March 23, 4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.

A look back at the career of printmaker and UNG professor John Amoss

BFA Capstone Exhibitions

March 27 – April 21

Reception: More details to come.

Spring Student Art Sale

April 24 – May 3

Each semester the UNG Visual Arts students hold a sale of their work at the Roy C. Moore Gallery featuring ceramics, paintings, sculptures, drawings and other remarkable pieces. All proceeds go directly to these talented student artists.

Fall Semester 2022

Jorge Arcos: Abstraction: Perception of Reality

August 31 – September 30

Reception: Wednesday, September 21 4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Atlanta artist Jorge Arcos uses abstract painting to express his vision of the world. He says, “Thanks to my Hispanic heritage, coming from a culturally rooted country, my work portrays lively, bold, and energetic characteristics. Looking at a world that is full of nuances and changes, my focus comes from inner feelings about life.” His exhibition will coincide with Hispanic Awareness Month.

Lauren Bradshaw: Severance

October 3 – 28

Join us for a lunchtime artist talk and reception on October 28 at Noon - 1:30 p.m.

The works in this exhibition utilize materials such as fibers, textiles, clay, and latex to depict the strange but familiar liminal space that occurs between major life events. Fibrous wall-hangings work in conjunction with ceramic structures that suggest the physical tensions of merging and rupturing. Severance is referenced as a signifier of the simultaneous initiation of ending and beginning rather than solely a division of these concepts. The inherently corporeal qualities of these materials render the visceral emotions felt in response to the detachment of the present from the past.

Student Holiday Art Sale

December 5 - 14

At the end of every semester the Visual Arts students hold a sale of their artwork. This sale features ceramics, paintings, prints, drawings and sculpture with all sales going directly to the students. Payment can be made with cash and cards via Paypal, Cashap and Venmo.

Student Holiday Art Sale

December 6 - 14

Gallery Open:

• Monday and Wednesday:
  • 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
  • Closed for lunch: 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
  • 2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m
• Tuesday and Thursday:
  • 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
  • Closed for lunch: 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
  • 2:00 p.m. -3:00 p.m.

At the end of every semester the Visual Arts students hold a sale of their artwork. This sale features ceramics, paintings, prints, drawings and sculpture with all sales going directly to the students. Payment can be made with cash and cards via Paypal, Cashap and Venmo.

Spring Semester 2022

Department of Visual Arts Faculty Biennial

January 17 – February 8

This Biennial allows the Department of Visual Arts to highlight recent work by the art faculty. Each campus has a remarkable array of talented people who are devoted to mentoring their students. In class and out, these teachers are also practicing artists whose work is featured in galleries, museums and venues around the country. During the Biennial, we celebrate the UNG faculty as professional artists by exhibiting their recent work here at UNG for the university community to enjoy.

Stacy Koffman: Transitions

March 3 – March 22

To join the artist talk and discussion via Zoom, please contact Victoria.cooke@ung.edu.

This exhibition by former UNG art professor Stacy Koffman is called “Transitions”. According to Stacy Koffman, change is inevitable and all is temporary. That is where she finds her mind and her art. Her influences range from the practice of Buddhism to Aboriginal Art, the Quilters of Gees Bend and many creative groups. She feels that trying to name and define specific “meaning” within abstract imagery is often very difficult, if not impossible. She has paintings in her studio where the meaning changes as she changes. She embraces this transitional quality of both the work and her mind. There is meaning to the process as her mind comes and goes through different spaces. Perhaps the meaning “is” the process! Letting the thoughts come and go as in a meditation practice. Trying not to hold on to any one idea or thought, and simply “be.” This is where her best work comes from and the results surprise and fill her up. It is as if she is the witness to her own process! Those are the best days in the studio.

B.F.A. Senior Capstone Exhibition: Calli Buttrey, Sarah McPherson, and Sara Wagler

March 30 - April 13

Please join us in celebrating the three, graduating B.F.A. students on the Gainesville campus. This Senior Capstone Exhibition is the final step for our Bachelor of Fine Arts majors. This is a specialized, professional degree that offers students additional, upper level studio and art course to better prepare them for graduate school admissions and positions within the creative industry that demands advanced artistic expertise. This semester’s graduating seniors are: Calli Buttrey, Sarah McPherson, and Sara Wagler

2021

Wesley Harvey - Stupid Love

February 18 - March 12
Artist talk via Zoom on February 22, 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. Contact Victoria.cooke@ung.edu for more information on the Zoom talk.

Stupid Love continues Harvey’s exploration into the idea of the perfect relationship and his own constant want and need for the fantasy to come to life. Looking under the umbrella of Queer Theory, he examines the idea of the monogamous relationship in terms of gay male sexuality and whether it can or will exist for him. He focuses not only the normative behavior but also the deviant lifestyle that often gets neglected, chastised and frowned upon. Drawing on information found in personal ads posted on dating websites, mobile dating/sex applications, and chat rooms. He has found both the normative and the deviant behaviors that has inspired his ceramics works.

Scholarship Awards

On view March 16 - March 26
The annual Scholarship Awards Exhibition displays the work of those students who have been given scholarships for their academic excellence in art.

Spring Student Art Sale

April 12 - April 23
Recent graduates and current students will be showing and selling their work to the public during our Spring Student Art Sale. 100% of the proceeds go directly to the students.

The Melancholy of Objects by Dennis Ritter

August 23 – September 17
Artist Talk: Friday, September 17, noon – 1:30 p.m.
To join the artist talk and discussion via Zoom, please contact Victoria.cooke@ung.edu.

The Melancholy of Objects is an extension of a larger body of work which explores the role of common objects - house plants, books, appliances, and keepsakes - as signifiers for personal and cultural identity through the lenses of domestic spaces, second-hand sales, and the personal collection. This exploration investigates the innate agency of “things” to affect our identify, memories, and recollections. In The Melancholy of Objects, the use of a monochromatic color scheme alludes to a darkness or an emptiness that can be found in the depths of isolation and nostalgia.  

Zuzka Vaclavik: Light Year

October 11 – November 3
Artist Talk: Wednesday, November, 3 – 4:30
To join the artist talk and discussion via Zoom, please contact Victoria.cooke@ung.edu.

"During the past couple of years I, along with many others, have felt alone, sad, anxious, and an overbearing darkness as regards to the state of the world. This group of works created mostly during the pandemic, is a direct challenge to those feelings. On a planet where there is so much turmoil and suffering, these pieces function in direct opposition. A celebration of an emancipation of mind, universes found within, unencumbered creativity, and a kind of personal triumph are topics that I have explored in these pieces. After all, a light year is a measurement of distance traveled, not of time."  

BA Capstone Exhibition

Juleah Edwards: Roads We Belong To

November 8 - November 19

Roads We Belong To is a physical embodiment of my summers throughout college spent road tripping the United States. These experiences traveling, camping, and learning about new places have consistently informed my work whenever I return home to Georgia. Memories traveling through these different places become a part of me and has led to this series of portraits, depicting the figure fused with the landscape. The mixed media works represents the miscellany of new perspectives that I bring home with me after my travels. Roads We Belong To is an eclectic narrative of paintings that encompass thousands of miles of backroads, vast natural scenes, years of exploration, human connection, and the feeling of home on the road. 

Student Holiday Art Sale

November 29 – December 10

2020

Paintings and Prints by Angie Jerez

Exhibition opening: October 12

Angie Jerez moved to Atlanta from Bogotá, Columbia 8 years ago with a degree in graphic design. She has established herself as an illustrator and painter, creating detailed drawings, paintings and murals. She says, “I create drawings with detailed linework. My inspiration comes from random silly ideas, or from nostalgic memories. Sometimes, I find charm in objects and things that are usually ignored.”