Inside Art with Michael Rose - RIC’s Bannister Gallery Shows Off Faculty Work

Wednesday, September 15, 2021

 

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Work by Yizhak Elyashiv PHOTO: Michael Rose

 

Rhode Island is spoiled to have so many fine galleries affiliated with its various colleges and universities. At Rhode Island College (RIC) in Providence, the Bannister Gallery has been a fixture on the local cultural scene since 1978. Named for famed Rhode Island artist Edward Mitchell Bannister, the gallery recently reopened to the public with an exciting exhibition of work by the college’s art faculty who work in two dimensions.

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While Bannister Gallery was not accessible to the public during much of the pandemic, Director Victoria Gao produced engaging exhibitions online to continue the space’s mission to bring art to the college and beyond. The gallery’s 2D Faculty Exhibition is on view through September 24 and features an array of work that shows off the respective specialities of eleven artists who teach at the institution. A visit to this in-person show broadens appreciation for the talented art-makers training the next generation of creatives at RIC.

 

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Work by Richard Whitten and Jason Traveras PHOTO: Michael Rose

 

The show includes work by Yizhak Elyashiv, Stephen Fisher, Sarah Hess, Lilya Krys, John Paul McCaughey, Amy Montali, Lisa Russell, Rebecca Shipe, Jason Travers, Frank Wang Yefeng, and Richard Whitten. Full of laudable works, the exhibition includes many bright spots and will make visitors from outside the RIC community jealous of those lucky students who get to learn from the artists with artwork on view.

One of the most appealing groupings in the exhibition is a tripartite series titled Beach Scene by Liliya Krys. In three images, Krys captures the personality of the local landscape. Executed quickly and on site, Krys spent about three hours on each painting and used them as a means to observe and document characters on the beach, who are as integral to the experience of coastal Rhode Island as the shore or surf. Born in Ukraine, Krys is an alumna of RIC and earned her MFA at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth.

 

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PHOTO: Michael Rose

 

Another highlight is Tetonic, an expansive collage work incorporating prints and collographs by John Paul McCaughey. In cool tones, McCaughey creates surfaces and textures which draw inspiration from distressed and defaced structures within inner cities. In this piece, shapely lines overlap atop torn paper allowing for multiple interpretations. Like Krys, McCaughey earned his undergraduate degree at RIC. He also holds an MFA from The Ohio State University and has taught at a number of institutions.

Deeper into the space, Lisa Russell’s sumptuous and beautiful paintings are also a joy to look at. Thickly painted and luminous, Russell’s work leverages still life objects to create stunning non-objective images. Although small in scale, these objects draw viewers in and invite deep observation. Russell earned her BFA at Massachusetts College of Art and her MFA at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University.

 

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PHOTO: Michael Rose

 

Abstraction is not the only genre on offer, however. Nearby, drawings by Stephen Fisher and paintings by Richard Whitten explore the possibilities of stunning realism. Whereas Fisher’s images could be mistaken for photographs if not given a close look, Whitten’s elaborate and fantastical trompe l’oeil constructions are akin to windows into spaces filled with imagined mechanisms. Both Fisher and Whitten are products of Yale University. Fisher earned his MFA at the Ivy and Whitten earned his BA there before taking an MFA at the University of California Davis where he studied under the likes of Wayne Thiebaud.

When asked how she feels about having the space reopened to the public, Bannister Gallery’s dynamic Director Victoria Gao says, “I am thrilled to be able to welcome back visitors into Bannister Gallery at Rhode Island College. While the pandemic has really pushed the gallery to embrace the digital space, with easily accessible online exhibitions and increased video content, our community has deeply missed seeing art up close in person. Our faculty artists are proud of the tactility of their individual works, and being able to view artwork in relation to one another is a big part of the gallery experience. By continuing our online content in conjunction with in-person exhibitions, I am hoping to keep engaging the new audiences we reached in the last year while also inviting our local community back into the gallery space.”

Visiting the Bannister Gallery in RIC’s Roberts Hall at their campus is another refreshing return to normalcy for the Rhode Island art community. The gallery’s 2D Faculty Exhibition is a testament both to the importance of the state’s university galleries and of the fantastic talent pool of local art educators.

The 2D Faculty Exhibition remains on view through September 24. The Bannister Gallery is currently open Monday-Friday from 12-8 pm or by appointment. Guests must register in advance and masks are required for all visitors.

 

To learn more about the Bannister Gallery visit https://www.ric.edu/bannister-gallery

 

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