It’s in the stars. Tatiana Potts, artist
The Western Carolina University Fine Art Museum presents the School of Art and Design Faculty Biennial on display from Tuesday, January 21, through May 2. On Thursday, January 30, from 5—7 p.m., there will be a reception for the exhibition, which features recent work by faculty members in the School of Art and Design.
Teenage Love Song 4. Jillian Ohl, artist
Assistant professor Tatiana Potts is a printmaker and bookmaker who was born in Czechoslovakia. The exhibition features her piece It’s in the stars, an accordion book with some pop-up elements that features intaglios, lithographs and hand-painted Slovak text. “The text are Slovak proverbs or idioms that are hard to translate in English, but have a special meaning to me,” she says. “Being a person from a country that doesn’t exist anymore, I find myself creating composite depictions of spaces and places that I visited or lived in, in order to reflect upon my identity, culture, language, memories, architecture, belonging and experiences of spaces and places and their constant change.”
Jillian Ohl, an assistant professor of graphic design, mixes analog and digital media to create her playful works. She chose pieces for the exhibit that she created following Hurricane Helene. “With connections to the outside world severed, I spent the days in my studio making work that brought me back to my adolescence—a naiveté and playful innocence clouded by a slight biting angst,” she says. “I chose them for the show because I felt they represented my voice and approach to composition and making while also being an unexpected visual response to a natural disaster.”
Desert Gems. Nathan Perry, artist
Ohl says the exhibition is an opportunity for students and the broader community to see the full breadth of faculty talent. “Many of my students and fellow faculty know me as a graphic design instructor,” she says, “but rarely see my studio practice and how I apply it to a gallery context.”
The Western Carolina University Fine Art Museum at the Bardo Arts Center is located at 199 Centennial Drive, Cullowhee. The Museum is open Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Thursday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Visit arts.wcu.edu/faculty-25 to learn more about the exhibition and reception.
