“Complications” is on display through Sept. 18 at the Birke Art Gallery, located in the Visual Arts Center at 927 3rd Ave., Huntington, and “Transmitters” is on view through Sept. 11 in the Charles W. and Norma C. Carroll Gallery, also located in the Visual Arts Center.
“Complications” is an installation of needle felted dolls that addresses the concept of the “home place” and the weight of the transition from childhood to adulthood. This exhibition is supported by the Joan C. Edwards Distinguished Professor of the Arts Endowment with additional support from the College of Arts and Media and the School of Art & Design.
“Eshelman’s work is both whimsical and thought-provoking,” said Sophia Celdrán, gallery director at Marshall’s School of Art & Design. “It features unique but familiar figures that interact with bird cages to make the audience come back for a second look.”
In conjunction with the exhibition, Eshelman will deliver an artist talk from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 3 in Room 209 of the Visual Arts Center. In the same room, she will host a needle felted jewelry-making workshop, free to the public from 1-3 p.m. on Sept. 4. All materials are provided and there is no experience necessary.
A reception will be held during the Downtown Huntington Art Walk from 5 to 7 p.m. on Aug. 21 in the Birke Art Gallery, offering attendees the opportunity to engage with the artist and explore the installation further.
Through the second exhibition, “Transmitters,” the Lexington, Kentucky-based artist Norris uses large-scale paintings to describe his experience going through the process of grief after personal loss.
This exhibition is presented in collaboration with the Suicide Prevention and Exposure Lab at the University of Kentucky and the Study and Research for Suicide Prevention Lab at Marshall University. Its goal is to reach both art audiences and those whose lives have been shaped by suicide loss. Viewers are encouraged to share their own experiences to create a space for dialogue around the subject.
The artist will also present an artist talk from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Aug. 21 in the Charles W. and Norma C. Carroll Gallery, during the reception from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Visual Arts Center. Both the artist talk and reception are free and open to the public.
The Visual Arts Center galleries are open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. Admission to the galleries and all associated events is free and open to the public.
For more information or media inquiries, contact Sophia Celdrán at galleries@marshall.edu. To learn more about Marshall’s School of Art & Design, visit www.marshall.edu/art.
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