Space Maker: U Faculty Art Reflects Our Moment
For Release July 26, 2021
MEDIA CONTACT: Mindy Wilson, 801.581.7328, mindy.wilson@umfa.utah.edu
Download the Spanish version here.
Explore the tensions, histories, and myths that shape our experiences of the world in Space Maker, a new exhibition of contemporary art made by University of Utah faculty artists. The exhibition opens Saturday, August 21, at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts (UMFA) on the U campus. On Friday, August 20, the UMFA will be open to members only for a special exhibition preview
Space Maker’s thirty-plus artists offer work in a lively variety of forms, from charcoal on paper and hand-built ceramics to digital coloring and 3D models. Largely created over the past year, these works inevitably reflect on individual and collective experiences of a tumultuous time marked by stay-at-home-orders, nationwide anti-racist protests, and a growing awareness of the impact of climate change on our environment. Together they offer viewers a space to observe, reflect, and connect.
Space Maker is guest-curated by Nancy Rivera, a Mexican-American visual artist, curator, and arts administrator based in Salt Lake City. Rivera is Visual Arts Coordinator for the Utah Division of Arts & Museums.
“A common theme that emerges through the exhibition is an exploration of place and space,” Rivera says. “In a time when we found ourselves confined to our homes, artists became hyperaware of their surroundings and created work that highlights their contributions as artists examining and looking beyond the ordinary.”
The artists featured in Space Maker, all faculty within the U’s Department of Art and Art History, comprise a diverse group of thinkers and creators who share a commitment to their work as artists and educators:
Edward Bateman
Simon Blundell
Laurel Caryn
Erika Cespedes
Lewis J. Crawford
Al Denyer
Elizabeth DeWitte
John Erickson
Haynes Goodsell
Joshua Graham
Michael Hirshon
Trishelle Jeffery
Lenka Konopasek
Beth Krensky
Naomi Marine
V. Kim Martinez
Kylie Millward
Martin Novak
Marnie Powers-Torrey
Andrew Rice
Vanessa Romo
Sylvia Ramachandran Skeen
Brian Snapp
Carol Sogard
Natalie Oliver Strathman
Paul Stout
Amy Thompson
Emily Tipps
Maureen O’Hara Ure
Adam Watkins
Moses Williams
Wendy Wischer
Jaclyn Wright
Space Maker is supported by Installation Sponsor UMFA Art Lovers and presented in partnership with the U’s College of Fine Arts and Department of Art and Art History, with in-kind support from the Utah Division of Arts and Museums.
Advance tickets are strongly encouraged.
Space Maker is on view through Sunday, December 5, 2021. It’s one of two UMFA exhibitions this fall that celebrate work by Utah-based artists. 2020: From here on out, a project that invites community artists to paint original murals in the Museum’s Great Hall, is set to open Saturday, September 25.
Space Maker Public Programs
Third Saturday for Families Online: Photography
Saturday, September 18, 2021 | FREE | Virtual activity at umfa.utah.edu/third-sat-photography
Get unique ideas from works on view in Space Maker to help make your own photographs into art. Use your own camera—whether it is old-fashioned film, a digital, or a phone camera—to explore ways of elevating your photography skills.
U School of Dance Faculty Virtual Performances
Thursday, October 7 | 7–8:30 pm | FREE | Visit umfa.utah.edu/events for details on how to watch.
U School of Music Faculty Performances
Wednesday, November 17 | 6:30–7:30 pm | FREE with admission | G. W. Anderson Family Great Hall
For UMFA current hours of operation, admission, directions, and ticket information, please visit umfa.utah.edu/visit.