Campus Connection

[caption id="attachment_7498" align="alignright" width="125" caption="Dying Star (2011) by Rachel Hein"][/caption] UW-L students will be featured in an upcoming art exhibition in a downtown La Crosse gallery. “Visual Manifesto: Exposing Works by Emerging Artists” features a variety of works, including printmaking, photography, drawing, painting, metal work, sculpture, ceramics and graphic design. The show opens at the Vitamin Studio, 129 S. Sixth St., with a reception with the artists from 5-7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 18. It runs through Friday, Dec. 16. The student artists showing their work are enrolled in ART 399 Professional Practices, which aims to prepare students to be successful in the professional art world. The student artists and their work include: [caption id="attachment_7512" align="alignright" width="125" caption="Untitled (red woman) by Jessalyn Kimball Color Lithograph 9” x 13.5”"][/caption]

• Corey Geary and Meng Thao, who work primarily in graphic design and illustration through Photoshop and Illustrator. Geary hopes to capture the viewer’s attention with his unique style. Thao creates digital art and metalwork in copper, nickel, silver, and some of their alloys largely inspired by modern-day artists.
• Rachel E. Hein, Katie Johnson and Jessica Hetchler, who incorporate three-dimensionality in their work. Hein combines metal and jewelry techniques in her pieces that respond to form and creates unification through elements of design. Johnson draws inspiration from her background in psychology to create works in metal and printmaking. Hetchler’s work responds to significant events in her life and explores these themes through the combination of ceramics and printmaking by transferring prints onto clay.
• [caption id="attachment_7516" align="alignleft" width="125" caption="Tacky Wallpaper by Amber Brader Oil on canvas 36” x 36” "][/caption] Brittany Vogt, Sarah McManus and Jessalyn Kimball, printmakers who are inspired by the human form. Vogt uses a variety of printmaking techniques to exploit the dynamic human form through portraiture and sculpture. McManus uses multiple plate intaglio prints to expose elements of the human experience. Kimball combines art with Eastern philosophy to find a more primal way of expressing nature within her drawings and prints.
• Jessie Schlender, Dani Mejchar, and Zachary Morin, who translate their artistic views into photography. Schlender uses black and white photography to capture human relationships. Mejchar works with light, form, and space in her portraits to express the human souls innocence and intensity. Utilizing film and lithography, Morin’s work conceptualizes issues drawn from Midwestern tradition and his Chicano heritage. Adopting a documentary style, the imagery engages the viewer through intimacy.
[caption id="attachment_7510" align="alignright" width="125" caption="Don’t Laugh by Jessie Schlender Black and White Photograph"][/caption]
• Amber Brader and Alison Benson, who explore their environment through painting. Brader uses color, line, and a variety of forms to straddle abstract and contemporary styles. Experimenting within the picture plane allows her to create a division of space. Benson explores her personal background through both painting and ceramics. Her work highlights the nature of the Kickapoo Valley, as well as the vintage accessories she associates with her childhood.

[caption id="attachment_7514" align="alignleft" width="125" caption="From Inside Out by Brittany Vogt Hand Built and Wheel Thrown Stoneware 15” x 10” x 10”"][/caption] The Vitamin Studio was formed in 2008 as the Green Bay Street Studio before it moved to its downtown location with a new name. Along with providing exhibits, the studio holds drawing sessions, classes and workshops for artists of all ages. Gallery hours are noon-5 p.m. Mondays; noon-7 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays; noon-8 p.m. Wednesdays; 1-5 p.m. Fridays; and 1-4 p.m. Saturdays. Admission is free. Get more info at www.artvitamin.org. If you go— Who: UW-La Crosse students What: “Visual Manifesto: Exposing Works by Emerging Artists” When: Friday, Nov. 18-Friday, Dec. 16. Gallery hours are noon-5 p.m. Mondays; noon-7 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays; noon-8 p.m. Wednesdays; 1-5 p.m. Fridays; and 1-4 p.m. Saturdays. Where: Vitamin Studio, 129 S. Sixth St. Admission: Free