Arts & Life

Art exhibit beautifies the bland

An exhibit on display at the Dennis W. Dutzi Gallery encourages art enthusiasts to see beauty in the mundane.

Senior metals major Riley Hansler challenges visitors to rethink the common perceptions of beauty in his BFA metal exhibition titled “Gold Standard.”

“People are told through media and culture what is valuable and need to take a step back and evaluate what is valuable to them [personally],” Hansler said.

This idea is prevalent in his untitled hand sculpture that is decorated with copper wire, string, aluminum rings and penny pendants. The hand also holds a halved geode, rough and dim on the outside, yet shimmering on the inside.

“No one would think twice to look at the rock because of its basic outer shell but when it is cracked open you can see the true beauty it possesses within,” Hansler said. “People will pass this rock day after day and never realize the beauty beneath its outer shell because all they can see is a basic rock.”

Riley manages to maintain this philosophy in each of his artifacts through the binding of metal works and other scrap materials. His art challenges viewers to reconsider what is valuable to them through his use of unconventional materials.

The Gold Standard exhibit will run through Thursday in the Dennis W. Dutzi Gallery, located between the Fine Arts buildings 2 and 3.

Additional exhibits on display in the neighboring galleries include an MFA exhibition by Dane Klingaman, which explores cultural iconography through collage-based pieces, and a BFA exhibition by Luis Macias that features the connection of sculpture and jewelry with outer space.

Next week’s student art exhibit on display from Sunday through Thursday will feature works by BFA senior printmaking students, a thesis exhibition exploring language through artifact and media, and an exhibition featuring contemporary craft methodologies created in the wood program.

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