VSU Fine Arts Gallery Presents 'We Two Founts' Oct. 14-Nov. 2

VALDOSTA — The Valdosta State University Fine Arts Gallery’s third public show of the 2013-2014 arts season features paintings by Marc Mitchell and sculptural videos by Derek Larson.

The exhibition, titled “We Two Founts,” opens Monday, Oct. 14. The artists will both be available to discuss their works during an opening reception from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. that evening.

Mitchell and Larson issued the following joint statement regarding their respective artwork and their exhibit at VSU: Are you developing a growing comfort in cynicism? Do recent conversations with friends involve greater levels of ridiculousness? This collaborative exhibition by Derek Larson and Marc Mitchell is based on a steady dialogue in ‘aesthetic dares’ exchanged between neighboring studios. While Mitchell works primarily in paint and Larson with video projection and electronics, the two share in a painterly conversation about topics in meme culture, screen space, and conspicuous consumption. 

Mitchell holds a Master of Fine Arts from Boston University in Boston, Mass., and is gallery director and an assistant professor in the Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro. He has shared his talents and skills as a visiting artist and curator at a number of institutions, and his artwork has been exhibited throughout the United States, in such locations as the G.A.S.P. Gallery and University of Massachusetts-Boston in Boston, Mass., Denise Bibro Gallery in New York City, N.Y., Gertrude Herbert Institute of Art in Augusta, and Los Angeles Center for Digital Art in Los Angeles, Calif.

Before joining the faculty at Georgia Southern, Mitchell held positions at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and Boston University Art Gallery in Boston, Mass. He has mounted exhibitions featuring such notable artists as Josef Albers, Louis Bourgeois, Richard Misrach, Sam Gilliam, Emmett Gowin, Ellsworth Kelly, Robert Longo, Allan McCullum, Ed Paschke, Thomas Nozkowski, Fred Sandback, and many others.

Larson holds a Master of Fine Arts from Yale University School of Art in New Haven, Conn. He is considered an expert in video, animation, and new media and teaches courses in new media and design as an assistant professor in the Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art at Georgia Southern. He was one of four finalists for the 2013 Hudgens Prize, given by the Hudgens Center for the Arts, and has exhibited in such locations as the Vox Populi in Philadelphia, Pa., Microscope Gallery in Brooklyn, N.Y., Telfair Museum in Savannah, Ga., and May Gallery in New Orleans, La.

Because of Larson’s efforts, art students at Georgia Southern are able to exhibit their works in the United Kingdom. He created a new study abroad program this year, an international exchange between Georgia Southern University and Sheffield Hallam University in South Yorkshire, England, offering students the opportunity to study animation, as well as design.

“We Two Founts” runs through Saturday, Nov. 2.

The Fine Arts Gallery is located on the first floor of the VSU Fine Arts Building, at the intersection of Oak Street and Brookwood Drive. It is open from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Fridays. Admission is free of charge.  

Contact Julie Bowland at (229) 333-5835 or jabowlan@valdosta.edu to learn more or to schedule a guided tour of the exhibition.

On the Web:

www.valdosta.edu/art

http://www.dereklarson.net/

http://mmitchellpainting.net/

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