Exhibit exploring the influence of artist Judy Chicago opens April 21 at University Art Museum

Bulletin Report

The University Art Museum (UAM) will open its first master of art thesis exhibition, by MA candidate Courtney Uldrich, Thursday, April 21, UAM said in a news release.

“Establishing Our Own Art History: The Influence of Judy Chicago,” which is curated by Uldrich, “explores themes produced throughout the career of leading feminist artist Judy Chicago (1939-), while analyzing the impact of her work on other women-identified artists housed in the NMSU Permanent Art Collection at UAM,” the news release said.

The exhibit’s opening reception is 5:30-7:30 pm Thursday, April 21, at UAM, Devasthali Hall, 1308 E. University Ave. Exhibit programming includes a virtual lecture by William L. Fox, director of the Center for Art + Environment at the Nevada Museum of Art, at 5:30 pm Friday, April 22. Register for the lecture at nmsu.zoom.us/webinar/ register/WN_l6F9utrkRbqXOD0yEpVrAA.

Through photography, video, prints, artist books and mixed media, the exhibit “explores key concepts in Chicago’s career, including historical erasure of women, gender constructs, personal heritage and identity, environmental issues and mortality.”

It explores how her work “influenced and intertwined with other women-identified artists, principally Black, Indigenous and LGBTQ+ artists,” the news release said.

In 2016, UAM began a focus on collecting “significant works by leading female, LGBTQ+ and other underrepresented artists to more accurately reflect the diverse cultural and social communities in the Southwest region,” UAM said.

Uldrich’s project received the 2021 Judy Chicago Art Education Award, funded by MaryRoss Taylor, an award that honors Chicago and her pioneering work as an art educator.

Uldrich is a master of art history candidate at NMSU who expects to graduate in this spring, the news release said. Uldrich received a BFA in photography, with a minor in art history from Shawnee State University in Portsmouth, Ohio.

The exhibit includes OutsmART Children’s Workshop, with local embroidery artist Bethany Meier of Queer and Crafty Creations of Las Cruces, at 1 pm Saturday, May 7, at UAM.

The exhibit continues at UAM through Saturday, May 14.

‘The Better Show’ exhibit

Also April 21-May 14, UAM will host “The Better Show: #Bring Your Own 2022 MFA Thesis Exhibition,” featuring work by NMSU Art Department MFA candidates Dina Perlasca, Carlos Lee Sullivan and Katrina Laine.

Perlasca is a ceramicist looking for reconciliation between ideal and real domestic spaces using symbols to encode her heritage, the museum said.

Sullivan is an assemblage artist who creates fairy tales without resolutions, pointing at the emptiness in their structure. He seeks to create new forms of optimism and innocence in that emptiness.

Laine is an installation artist giving permission to herself and others to take up space and time to heal from collective and personal trauma.

UAM is open 10 am to 4 pm Tuesday through Saturday. Designated museum parking is available and general parking on the NMSU campus is free on weekends and after 4:30 pm on weekdays.

Contact UAM Coordinator Jasmine Herrera at 575-646-2545 and [email protected].

Visit uam.nmsu.edu.