The Newman University Steckline Gallery will present “Under the Layers” by Jennifer McBratney and Erin Raux as the seventh show of its 2013-2014 season. The exhibit of sculpture and mixed media, which begins with a Final Friday reception from 5 to 7 p.m. on Friday, March 28 will be on display through April 18. Both the reception and admission to the gallery are free and open to the public.
An “Art for Lunch” presentation by McBratney and Raux will be held Tuesday, April 1 from noon to 1 p.m. in the gallery. A light lunch will be served on a first-come, first-served basis. Guests can also bring their lunch. This event is also free and reservations are not required.
“My art is continually affected by a fluid social environment and the ever-changing definitions of gender,” Raux said. “The inconsistency of how a person is perceived and how a person desires to be perceived weighs heavily in my practice. My work is an instinctive progression of gathering, sorting, and associating in order to evoke and define an installation’s volume and space.
“Using a wide range of mainly domestic and mundane consumables, I explore their captivating qualities and sense of tactility in a manner that addresses humanity without utilizing the human form. I have a desire to unite materials that are stereotypically labeled as feminine or masculine. I acquire materials from across social divisions to create new identity and re-define or invade predefined roles and preconceived notions.
“In the work I create, objects are accumulated and given a new form and community. The original products achieve new meaning, but they also are the bridge between the viewer and the new ideas and questions I propose. They are physical proof of our lives, and therefore allow viewers to connect with the work by way of their existing, past, and fantasy relationships with ordinary things. I seek to evoke a sense of wonder, humor, mischief and sexual innuendo through familiar, intrinsically understated objects.”
The Steckline Gallery is located inside the De Mattias Fine Arts Center on the Newman campus, 3100 McCormick. The gallery is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., or by appointment. For more information, call 316-942-4291, ext. 2199.
