Works of art that reflect life during the pandemic will be featured in an exhibition, “Work from Home,” at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Created by faculty and staff from the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Art and Art History, all of the work in the exhibition was created during the COVID-19 pandemic. Featured are masks, works on paper, fabricated interaction contraptions, photographs, posters, digital prints and video.
The works are installed in UAB Sustainability’s Solar House, at the corner of 11th Avenue South and 17th Street. The exhibition will be on show March 1-May 30. Anyone interested in seeing the exhibition or the Solar House can book an individual tour. To schedule an appointment, visit uabsolarhouseandmicrogrid.setmore.com.
To see this exhibit, register for your appointment here.
A virtual reception originally scheduled for Saturday, March 13 — the one-year anniversary of when faculty and staff were told to begin working from home — will be held in April. A virtual reality tour will also be available online; information will be available at uab.edu/art.
“While in general artists are comfortable with being alone in their studio for great stretches of time, the isolation that comes with a pandemic is having a profound impact on us all, and in ways we have yet fully realized,” said Gary Chapman, MFA, whose works on paper from the series “Nocturne OCD COVID-19” will be on show. “This exhibition is the result of the cathartic process, and our attempt to bring meaning to this moment in time where we find ourselves.”
The works on display “reflect the range of human experiences during the pandemic: worry, loneliness, gratitude, hope,” said Melissa Yes, whose video “Shelter in Place” is featured. “It also showcases the resiliency and creativity of the UAB community, and demonstrates the power of art to investigate, shepherd and document the human experience during times of crisis.”
Featured in the exhibition are works by:
- Doug Barrett, MFA, associate professor of graphic design
- Doug Baulos, MFA, assistant professor of drawing and foundations
- Derek Cracco, MFA, associate professor of printmaking
- Gary Chapman, MFA, professor of painting and drawing
- Rich Gere, MFA, professor and department chair
- Stacey Holloway, MFA, associate professor of sculpture
- Ryan Meyer, MFA, instructor
- Elisabeth Pellathy, MFA, associate professor of new media
- Sonja Rieger, MFA, professor emeritus
- Erin Wright, MFA, professor of graphic design
- Jasper Lee, MFA, instructor
- Melissa Yes, MFA, program coordinator and instructor
This collaboration between the Department of Art and Art History and UAB Sustainability signals an ongoing relationship that will extend into more projects and exhibitions in the future.