The University of Olivet presents the exhibition “Coming to the Surface” by Olivia Timmons. The exhibit will be open Feb. 28 – March 28 with an artist’s reception March 1, 5-7 p.m. The display and reception will be held at the Kresge Foundation Art Gallery, located in the Riethmiller Blackman Art Building. The gallery is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public.
Olivia Timmons serves as assistant professor of printmaking at Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University in Grand Rapids. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts at California College of the Arts in Oakland, California, and her Master of Fine Arts in printmaking from Arizona State University’s Herberger College of Design and Art in Tempe, Arizona. Her work has been exhibited in national and international exhibitions such as the Pacific States Biennial National Print Exhibition at the University of Hawaii in Hilo, Hawaii, American Dream at Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum in Mesa, Arizona, and the 31st Annual McNeese National Works on Paper Exhibition at McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
“A deep and murky oceanic atmosphere, a place where light is the most precious commodity for existence, represents the conspicuous lack of resources required for basic survival,” Timmons said. “The more that humans strive to advance technology at the expense of the natural world, the more we lose familiarity with that world, disrupting an awareness of the environment and severing connections with the past.
“The forms, expressions and movements of aquatic creatures are captivating with their intrinsic adaptability amid an ever-fluctuating environmental narrative. By working through animal forms, I explore varied social attitudes, emotions and personalities. Individual identities and hierarchies emerge within the pieces as a metaphorical reflection of positive and negative human interaction with the world.
“The inevitable transformation of the environment and the inhabitants therein are a direct result of human exploitation of the environment and expressed in the disfiguration of creatures in the prints. The natural world and its creatures are forever changing amid modern developments. Humanity has become increasingly dependent upon the environment, which has dramatically impacted all ecological and biological systems. My work underscores the danger of failing to take responsibility for the planet in the pursuit of progress. I hope to inspire viewers to pause, observe and reflect upon the state of the environment and encourage a meaningful reconnection with nature.”
For more information about the exhibit, contact Gary Wertheimer, professor of art, at 269.749.7627 or gbwertheimer@uolivet.edu.