CONTACT: Gita Brown, 401-456-8465, gbrown@ric.edu
Laura Hart, 401-456-8977, lhart@ric.edu
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – “Wordsmith/Metalsmith,” a group exhibition at the Edward Mitchell Bannister Gallery in Roberts Hall, features the work of artists Boris Bally, Kristin Beeler, Liz Hamman, Keith Lo Bue, Mary Hallam Pearsem and Katherine Richmond. The exhibit runs from May 19 through June 19, with an opening reception on Tuesday, May 26, at 5 p.m., Bannister Gallery is located in Roberts Hall, 600 Mt. Pleasant Ave., Providence.
In conjunction with the exhibit, Laura Johnson, associate curator for Historic New England, will present a public lecture on the history of Rhode Island jewelry on Thursday, May 28, at 6 p.m., in Rhode Island College’s Alex and Ani Hall, Room 138.
Boris Bally is owner of Bally Humanufactured, LLC, where he makes eccentric, formal and/or humorous objects. His practice demonstrates a fusion of technical skills and industrial design. Bally is best known for his “dissected remains of street signs.” He creates a range of objects, from intimate jewelry to large-scale outdoor installations. His work can be found in such public collections as the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the Museum of Arts and Design in New York. He has been awarded by the Society of North American Goldsmiths, the Rhode Island Council on the Arts and Eco Arts Awards Repurposed Materials in Art and Design.
Kristin Beeler is a professor of art at Long Beach Community College in California. Her studio practice reflects on the meeting point between the outer and the inner lives of the body. She is the recipient of a Long Beach Arts Council Fellowship and a Beverly Alpay Grant. Her work is in collections at Berea College and at the Appalachian Center for Crafts.
Liz Hamman works as a mixed-media jewelry artist. Her work reflects her interests in books, the arts and fiber arts. Making use of discarded materials and ephemera, she acknowledges the conflicting relationship we have with books – treasured yet neglected objects.
Keith Lo Bue, a teacher living in Australia, uses found objects to intuitively connect disparate phenomena, such as preservation and decay, or memory and forgetting. His collections can be found at the Smithsonian Institution, the Museum of Art and Design in New York and the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh. Lo Bue hosts workshops throughout the English-speaking world.
Mary Hallam Pearsem attended graduate school at the State University of New York and is now assistant professor at Lamar Dodd School of Art at the University of Georgia. Her current body of work examines jewelry’s functions. She won the Jane H. Zimmerman Award for Excellence for Body of Work among other awards and grants.
Katherine Richmond has an M.A. from the School of Jewellery at Bermingham City University, UK. She now works at Northamptonshire County Council and is an artist in residence at Birmingham City University’s School of Jewellery.
Curated by RIC Assistant Professor of Art Sara Picard, “Wordsmith/Metalsmith” is made possible through major funding support from the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities, an independent state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The Council seeds, supports and strengthens public history, cultural heritage, civic education and community engagement by and for all Rhode Islanders.
Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in the “Wordsmith/Metalsmith” exhibit and events do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Bannister Gallery hours are Tuesdays through Fridays, noon to 8 p.m. Exhibitions, opening receptions and lectures are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Bannister Gallery at (401) 456-9765 or visit http://www.ric.edu/bannister.
Bannister Gallery was created by the Rhode Island College Department of Art to function as a teaching resource. Exhibits are selected by a rotating body of faculty to highlight aspects of their courses and various disciplines. Focus is on the presentation of contemporary art by local, regional and internationally renowned artists, including site-specific, electronic and video projects. James Montford is director of the gallery.
Gallery programming is presented through the cooperation of the Department of Art Gallery Committee, the RIC Art Club, the Artist Co-Op, the Performing and Fine Arts Commission, the Committee for Lectures and Films, the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the E.M. Bannister Society and the RIC Foundation.
