Installation artist transforms WWU's art gallery

1/9/2012 Mary Ann Beahon
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (573) 592-1127

 

Valerie Wedel, an installation artist, has transformed William Woods University's art gallery into "Shrine to You." The exhibit runs through Feb. 4 in the Mildred Cox Gallery of the Gladys Woods Kemper Center for the Arts.

An artist's reception and presentation will be held 1-4 p.m. Saturday (Jan. 14). It is free and open to the public.

Wedel is assistant professor of visual art and co-director of the Morris Gallery of Contemporary Art at Missouri Valley College. She earned an MFA in sculpture at the University of Missouri, where she specialized in installation art.

She holds a B.A. in French and peace studies from Washington University in St. Louis and a BFA from Columbia College in painting and drawing. She has taught at the University of Missouri and at Stephens College.

Merging her backgrounds in both 2-D and 3-D art, Wedel creates room-sized art installations that viewers can enter into. The primary intention of her work is to encourage self-awareness. She purposely blurs boundaries between artist, viewers and artwork, enabling viewers to become active participants.

In November 2009, the Missouri Contemporary Ballet featured her set design in a performance at the Missouri Theatre in Columbia. In January 2011, her set again graced the stage, at Missouri Valley College.

Wedel has exhibited nationally in both solo and group shows and she has been the recipient of a number of awards, grants and speaking invitations.       
                                                      
The workshops and residences Wedel has attended include Penland School of Crafts, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts and the Vermont Studio Center. She has studied abroad in Australia, France and Italy, and she hopes to bring students along on her next overseas trip.

The Cox Gallery is open to the public Mondays through Fridays, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free. For more information about this exhibit, call 573-592-4245.

CUTLINES:
Valerie Wedel, installation artist
"Shrine to You - Installation Documentation," photo by Kevin Dingman