The Newman Steckline Gallery will present Andrew DeCaen’s show, “Plenty,” as this month’s Final Friday exhibit.
The exhibition will begin with a Final Friday reception from 5 to 7 p.m. on Sept. 29 and will be on display at the gallery through Oct. 20. Both the reception and admission to the gallery are free and open to the public.
DeCaen’s exhibit continues his interest in themes of eating and food, exploring images of kitchen rituals as reflections of our interior and exterior lives. The works use understated yet powerful connections between contemporary and historical images to ask open-ended questions.
“I titled the show ‘Plenty’ because, for me, that word had all kinds of directions I could take,” said DeCaen. “It asks the questions, ‘What is enough? When do we have that sense of fullness? And what does that mean?’ It also relates to human life on a daily experience even when not related to eating and food.”
DeCaen’s artwork includes drawing, printmaking, sculpture, and most recently animated images. He received a BA from the University of Dallas in 1997 and an MFA from the University of South Dakota in 2001.
“What excites me about his work is his interest in pushing printmaking into the third dimension,” said Mary Werner, associate professor of art. “He comes to us from the University of North Texas, Denton, and is the Printmaking Area Coordinator in their art program.”
Aside from the U.S., DeCaen’s artworks have also been shown in Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Colombia, Denmark, England, Finland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Poland, Romania, Sweden and Turkey.
An “Art for Lunch” presentation by the artist will be held Oct. 3 from noon to 1 p.m. in the gallery. A light lunch will be served on a first-come, first-served basis. Guests are also welcome to bring their lunch. This event is also free and reservations are not required.
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.
