Faculty art, design on display through March 9

Western Washington University’s Western Gallery will continue its 2012-2013 Season with the exhibition “Departments of Art and Design Biennial” through March 9.

The exhibition is free and open to the public.

Every two years the Western Gallery features the work of faculty from Western’s Art and Design departments, including invited temporary and past faculty and staff members. The show is an opportunity for the community to explore contemporary attitudes and individual areas of research with traditional and new media.

The exhibition features a variety of work by 18 artists. One overarching theme is collaboration, not only in terms of focusing on the artist team but also in allowing the viewer to participate. Artist Cara Jaye builds on the imagery generated by her daughter, while artists Paul Brower and Carol Berry make works on paper involving his photographs and her stitchery. Cristina de Almeida invites the audience to actually move around cards with text to line up with her designs for pages in her book, “Letterforms and Latinisms.”

Viewers will also discover several portraits where artists Garth Amundson and Pierre Gour, and printmaker Ben Moreau, explore documentary truth and self-identity issues. Nathan Cranston photographs his daughter, but she is not identified other than being an element of color in the landscape.

In addition to connecting themes, the biennial show celebrates the diverse materials artists use, how they use them and their impact on the viewer. In the work of ceramicist Pat McCormick and fiber artist Seiko Purdue, everyday objects are made into art objects, while the large-scale watercolors of Cynthia Camlin and the sculptural gate of John Zylstra provide a sense of drama for the viewer.

The Departments of Art and Design Biennial will be on display Monday through Saturday through March 9 in the Western Gallery. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, except Wednesdays when the gallery is open until 8 p.m., and noon to 4 p.m. on Saturdays.

For more event details please visit http://westerngallery.wwu.edu/ or call (360) 650-3900.