Spring art exhibitions on three campuses

January 17, 2023
Pictured is Carla Contreras, whose exhibition "Drifted" is featured Jan. 9-Feb. 17 in the Bob Owens Art Gallery at UNG's Dahlonega Campus. Spring art exhibitions will take place on UNG's Dahlonega, Gainesville and Oconee campuses.

Article By: Agnes Hina

University of North Georgia's (UNG) campuses will welcome a wide variety of artists to their art galleries this spring. Painting, photography, and graphic design exhibitions will be on display on UNG's Dahlonega, Gainesville, and Oconee campuses for students, faculty, and staff to see pieces in various media.

“Drifted”, a Carla Contreras exhibition, will run Jan. 9-Feb. 17 in the Bob Owens Art Gallery at UNG's Dahlonega Campus. Contreras is originally from Quito, Ecuador, and studied painting at Savannah College of Art and Design. Her work reflects on the human condition through contemplative practices in nature. Living by the Chattahoochee River since 2020 has transformed her artwork in form and content. Contreras's mixed media works capture the rivers and forest she currently explores.

Contreras will also offer a discussion about her show at noon Feb. 17 in the Owens Gallery.

From Feb. 27-March 31, photographer Alex Christopher Williams' exhibition will display his work titled “What Color is the Air You Breathe” in the Bob Owens Art Gallery. Williams is not only a photographer, but he also manages Minor League, an artist-run project space in Atlanta. His work explores race, masculinity and history.

The BFA Capstone Exhibition has allowed me to take the skills I have learned and put them to use, thinking critically and pushing my skills.

Cortney Day

UNG senior

The Owens Art Gallery will host the Hal B. Rhodes III Student Exhibition from April 2-28.

UNG Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A) seniors will also get a chance to display their work in the Senior Capstone Exhibition in the Roy C. Moore Art Gallery on the Gainesville campus. This semester-long project developed by students in the Visual Arts program occurs with guidance from a focus area academic adviser. 

Students create a proposal that showcases their expertise and helps them develop through their last semester.

This process culminates with the installation of an individual exhibition and the production of a portfolio, preparing you for professional employment or graduate school

"UNG’s Department of Visual Arts has an incredibly diverse selection of professors on both Dahlonega and Gainesville campuses I have had the opportunity to learn from. I have learned various processes and ways of organizing visual elements necessary to communicate conceptual ideas," Cortney Day, a senior from Chatsworth, GA, pursuing a BFA said. "The BFA Capstone Exhibition has allowed me to take the skills I have learned and put them to use, thinking critically and pushing my skills."

Events in the Roy C. Moore Art Gallery at the Gainesville Campus include:

  • Visual Voice: Graphic Design Juried Show, Jan. 9-Feb. 11
  • John Amoss Retrospective, Feb. 20-March 24
  • Spring Student Art Sale, April 24-May 3

UNG's Oconee Campus Gallery will also have art exhibitions beginning with work from University of Georgia associate professor of art and abstract artist Chris Hocking. His exhibition runs from Jan. 18 to March 10.

Just 10 days later, Oconee will also experience artwork donated by James and Francis Mathis as part of the North Georgia Landscapes: Selections from the Mathis Collection. This is the first public display of the collection and the focus is north Georgia artists of the late 20th and early 21st centuries with paintings, drawings, and crafts celebrating visually rich landscapes. It will last from March 20 to Aug. 18.


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