Season Archives

Jack Girard: 1975 – Present

50 years of boxes, totems, constructions, and forgotten drawings

Sept. 10 – Oct 10

Jack Girard’s drawings, collages, and sculptures interplay between personal and societal narratives. In artworks spanning roughly 1975 to present, Girard constructs intricate visuals bound together in ways that are at times confusing, funny, alluring, and maybe even a little abrupt, edging against taboo. 

With a masterful hand, honed through decades of prolific creation and continuous inspection, Girard employs a diverse range of techniques to create works that are both intellectually and visually stimulating. A Transylvania University professor for over four decades, his deep engagement with students and the academic world shaped his artistic vision.

This retrospective exhibition reminds us that ideas and relationships are cyclical, that returning later for a fresh perspective establishes who we are through repeated significance. This becomes evident in Jack’s work by repeated themes of death and grieving, curiosity about various cultural practices, and a deeply speculative eye towards power and politics – often executed with a wry sense of humor. These intertwine the multifaceted nature of human experience. Each of Girard’s works tells a story while challenging the notion of linear narratives, preferring instead to explore the messy, often contradictory realities of life.

Associated Programming

  • Gallery HOP Reception — Sept. 19, 5-8 p.m.
  • Artist Talk — Oct. 2, 5 p.m. in Morlan Gallery
  • Studio 300 — Oct. 8 & 9

Rematerialize

A metamorphosis through reflective action

Oct. 27 – Nov. 21

While we tend to think of “materialism” as the longing for and obtaining of goods and things, materialist philosophies propose that the fundamental experience of the universe is derived from and understood by the materials within it. Materialism acknowledges that the cosmos of which we are a part is made of matter, and that the experiences that we have are born from that same matter. The artists in this show consider how material interactions—including those within and between ourselves—shape our knowledge and the ways we inhabit our environments. The works in this show invite us to be present and experience matter as a method of learning and being.

We invite visitors to be participants in this exhibition and find joy in the actions both physical and psychological that they undertake in the space of the gallery. We hope that in participating, visitors will not simply see the artwork, but will look actively for and at the material of the work. We invite participants to find moments of tension between materials, points of resolve within works, notes of balance and imbalance, and manifestations of change within the works and within themselves. We hope that this exhibition will encourage us all to be present with the material of our lives, both within this space and beyond it. 

Associated Programming

  • Laura Korch artist visit:
    • 10/27, 9:00am Coffee with Artist in Center for Entrepreneurship
    • 10/27, 11:30am Artist Talk in Morlan Gallery
  • Pictures at an Exhibition performed by Greg Partain with painting and remarks by Constance Grayson: Nov. 16 at 3 p.m. in Carrick Theater
  • Gallery HOP Closing Reception: Nov. 21

Zak Foster: SOUTHERN WHITE AMNESIA

Jan. 12 – Feb. 20

Southern White Amnesia examines the family stories white Americans pass down through generations—or allow to be forgotten—about their role in slavery and its ongoing legacy. When Foster told a family member about discovering records showing their ancestors had enslaved people, the immediate response was “no”—followed by insistence that they would “surely know” if this were true. That moment of family denial launched this entire collection.

The work moves from confronting hard evidence in old estate documents and Civil War letters to attempting communication with ancestors through dream work and AI-animated family photographs. Rather than ending with historical revelation, the collection culminates in active repair—both literal mending of found textiles and ongoing spiritual work of ancestral accountability.

Foster commits 100% of proceeds from sales to scholarships through the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, making the repair work concrete and immediate.

Associated Programming

  • Gallery HOP / Reception: Jan. 16, 5-8 p.m.
  • Creative Intellegence Series Lecture by Zak Foster – Feb. 12, 6 p.m.

Shifting Practice: A Transylvania University Faculty Exhibition

Sept. 10-Oct. 11

Shifting Practice: A Transylvania University Faculty Exhibition explores the evolving artistic journeys of our studio art faculty. This exhibition presents a collection of works that trace the professional and creative development of Transy faculty members, from their early artworks to their most recent creations. The diverse array of styles and mediums showcased here underscores the transformative experiences and persistent exploration that characterize artistic practices. Both an academic investigation and a personal narrative, this exhibition offers a unique opportunity to engage with the rich, multifaceted careers of Transylvania University faculty.

  • Zoé Strecker
  • Kurt Gohde
  • Grace Ramsey
  • Anthony Mead
  • David Gerhard

Associated Programming:

  • Gallery HOP Reception: Sept. 20 5-8 p.m.

Marginal Labor

Curated by Dr. Emily Goodman and Anthony Mead

Oct. 28-Nov. 19

This exhibition considers how labor that exists at the margins—because it is low or no-wage work, because it is essential but unglamorous, because it is invisible or internal—shapes our understanding of the people who perform these tasks and the roles they play in our society. Artworks in this exhibition will thus examine capitalist delineations of labor as well as how labor exists outside and beyond the marketplace, including, but not limited to, considerations of caretaking, ability/disability, and interpersonal and affective work. As such, this show hopes to disrupt the marginalization of various forms of labor and shine a light on the constructed hierarchies that privilege some types of work as more worthwhile than others.

  • Borealis
  • Maia Chao
  • Kate Gilmore
  • Sofía Ramírez Hernández
  • Emily Hanako Momohara
  • Tracy Marie Taylor
  • Grace Ramsey

Associated Programming:

  • Gallery HOP Closing Reception: Nov. 15 5-8 p.m., Curator Talk at 6 p.m.
  • Academic Affairs artist talk with Grace Ramsey: Nov. 14 12 p.m. in Morlan Gallery

Allison Spence: Untitled Frankenstein

Jan. 13-Feb. 21

Allison Spence’s exhibition “Untitled Frankenstein” examines what happens when one is confronted with a body that does not apply to our commonly held definitions. These bodies possess weight, form, and accepted anatomies, yet Spence also explores the potential within indeterminate bodies, examining what they contain and the new meanings they create through recombination.

Drawing inspiration from the medical term “teratoma,” which describes a tumor containing disparate tissues and translates to “monster tumor,” Spence reflects on our scientific and cultural approach to abnormality. This concept of monstrosity parallels our fragmented contemporary existence, shaped by scientific and technological advancements. Through her work, Spence aims to expose previously delineated forms as inherently malleable, with identities in flux, subverting our expectations and revealing the nuances and new possibilities of existence.

Associated Programming:

  • Gallery HOP / Reception: Jan. 17
  • Artist Talk: Feb. 20 at 5:30 p.m., Morlan Gallery