Graduate students from all disciplines to display creative works

You don’t have to be an art major to create and exhibit artwork, and Washington University’s 2nd Annual Graduate Student Visual Arts Exhibit is a testament to that.

Washington University graduate students from all disciplines were invited to submit visually compelling creations for an exhibit at Baseline Gallery, 1110 Washington Ave., in the downtown loft district.

When the exhibit opens with a reception from 6-10 p.m. Jan. 28, more than 65 graduate students representing disciplines ranging from chemistry, medical sciences, engineering and law to anthropology, architecture, art and English, will have their creative sides on display.

The exhibit, titled “Offcourse,” runs through Feb. 4.

“We conceived the exhibit as a chance to display the various kinds of creative process graduate students at Washington U. engage in,” said exhibit co-founder Matt Bailey, a second-year doctoral student in art history and in American Culture Studies, both in Arts & Sciences. “Some of their work was done as part of professional development; other work was created in the student’s spare time for a therapeutic release from the usual routine of course work and research.”

By developing an exhibit open to all graduate students, Bailey wanted to challenge traditional definitions of the category of art.

“While much of the work is made from the traditional media of painting, sculpture and photography, other work is very nontraditional — in particular those submissions by grad students in the sciences that were done as a part of professional development, such as photographs of spinal cords, reproductions of microscopic views or sculptural models of electrical coils,” Bailey said.

“I think one of the interesting points of the exhibition is showing all this creative work side-by-side, the work of, say, engineering and science majors with art majors,” he added. “It’s not just about talent — though it does showcase that — but the exhibit is also about the nature of the creative process, the many forms it can take, and the many ways in which ‘art’ can be defined and enjoyed.”

Along with Bailey, Eric Repice, a doctoral student in anthropology in Arts & Sciences, and Matthew Toth, a master’s student in Architecture, helped organize the exhibit.

University co-sponsors are the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, the Graduate Architecture Council, the Graduate Professional Council and the College of Art.

Baseline Gallery hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday and noon-4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Both the exhibit and the reception are free and open to the public.

For more information, e-mail Bailey at wugradexhibit2@yahoo.com.