Gallery features experimental, fresh works of art

The School of Fine Arts Gallery might not draw the same crowds as Assembly Hall, but it does allow students to experience new art. This season, the SoFA Gallery has a variety of exhibits to expose students to contemporary artwork.

The SoFA Gallery will kick off the fall semester at 7 p.m. Sept. 5 with an opening reception for two shows simultaneously: “HUB: A Collaboration of Art and Space” and “Vacation ’08.”

HUB is a two-part show that will take place in the gallery during September and will be loaded into trucks for its second phase of display at the McCalla School on 10th Street and Indiana Avenue. The mobile exhibit will then travel to other venues.

“HUB is an awesome project,” said Betsy Stirratt, SoFA Gallery director. “It’s totally an experiment. It’s a movable show.”

Derek Parker, an associate instructor at the School of Fine Arts, helped develop HUB and said he is looking forward to sharing his work with the public.

“There’s a certain amount of gratification about standing next to something you created,” Parker said. “I like to create conversation.”

The second show, “Vacation ’08,” will feature brand-new pieces faculty members created during summer vacation.

“For faculty members, summer can be really important for getting artwork done,” said Paul Brown, an associate instructor of graphic design at SoFA, whose art is being featured in the show. “It’s a chance for fine arts students to see what the people teaching them have been doing over the summer.”

The fresh art and local feel of the SoFA Gallery make it a good place for newcomers to the art world, and it is also a good way for them to get involved, Parker said.

“The SoFA Gallery is one of the places in town that exhibits shows of contemporary artists,” Brown said. “It’s the kind of stuff you could see in New York or Chicago, but it’s right here in Bloomington.”

Located in the center of the Henry Radford Hope School of Fine Arts, 1201 E. Seventh St., the gallery provides a venue for student and faculty artists to showcase their work. It’s typical of a fine arts school to have a gallery, but the SoFA Gallery is unique because it features professional artists in addition to students and faculty, Stirratt said.

“What makes this gallery different is we show artists from outside the school,” Stirratt said.

The gallery is open for all students to visit, regardless if they study art or not.

“Non-artists should go to the opening to talk to the artists,” Parker said. “There are no stupid questions about art.”

Like Parker, Stirratt said never-before-seen pieces make the SoFA Gallery special.

“It’s the newest art you’ll ever see,” Stirratt said.  “Artists are experimenting. They can show things that they just made. No one knows if these are great works of art yet.”

The SoFA Gallery is open Tuesday through Friday from noon to 4 p.m. For more information, visit www.indiana.edu/˜sofa/.