UW-River Falls Art Students Present Senior Exhibition

March 22, 2012--University of Wisconsin-River Falls seniors Meghan Foster, Sara Hitchcock, Elizabeth Novak and Jeffrey Stenbom will be presenting their Senior Exhibition in Gallery 101 of the Kleinpell Fine Arts building at UW-River Falls April 2-9.

Foster, of West Allis, is a fine arts major in fibers with a minor in painting who creates large scale figurative works. She is influenced by eighteenth century Japanese printmaking, particularly the strong graphic quality of line in those prints.  Her work takes mythological themes as subjects, using recognizable creatures and figures to explore a range of concepts. Foster paints on both silk cloth and watercolor paper because both allow for fluid application of marks.

Hitchcock, of Blaine, Minn., is a broad area art education major. Her artwork incorporates a contemporary two-dimensional style in a three dimensional form. She paints fictional cityscapes on layers of wood and uses a bold, limited color pallet in all of her paintings to emphasize the playfulness of each piece. Hitchcock also uses digital art in sculptural pieces as a way to enhance the subjective meaning of the images.

Novak, of Amery, is a fine arts major in fibers with a minor in photography who uses her inspiration from peacocks, sea creatures and vintage Americana style to create colorful, earthy patterning on her silk dresses and skirts.  Elizabeth designs her fabric through the use of intricate Japanese shibori techniques as well as thickened dye painted directly onto the silk.  Once the surface design is complete, and the dyes are set and permanent, she constructs the final garment itself.

Stenbom, of Apple Valley, Minn., is a fine arts major in glass with a minor in sculpture. His kiln-formed pieces consist of cast and fused glass forms. Stenbom conveys the idea of movement by using pattern, line, and shape in his sculptures. His work in fused glass is primarily influenced by naturally occurring patterns from nature. Stenbom also portrays significant events from his life with the use of simple egg shaped forms.

An exhibition reception will be held Friday, April 6, from 6-9 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. Regular gallery hours are Monday-Friday from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and 7-9 p.m.; Sunday from 2-4 p.m.; closed Saturday. For more information, contact the UWRF Art Department at 715-425-3266.