As an art major, I spend the majority of my days in Kroeber Hall. The sites have become monotonous: students sprawled across the floor drawing on oversized sketchpads, coffee cups sprinkled around the perimeter, and students’ artwork hung on the surrounding walls. It is always a welcome change when there is a new exhibit to drool over, which luckily came in the form of the 2012 Art Practice Faculty Show last Thursday.

The Worth Ryder Gallery has been filled with the various works of fifteen of our very own Art Practice professors. The works vary in medium and style, providing a visual buffet for the art-hungry soul. Professor Wanxin Zhang’s piece entitled “What’s Up?” accordingly greets gallery-goers at the front of the room, featuring two identical fired clay and glaze sculptures that resemble soldiers in gas masks.

Many of the other works possess political and cultural undertones similar to Professor Zhang’s. Professor John McNamara’s surrealist paintings are loaded with emblematic images. His painting “The Flow” collages together the face of an Arabic prince, tourists crowding around the grave of Elvis Prestley, and other historic events atop a colorful, psychedelic background. His other work, “Tug of War,” is also on display, providing a similar surreal experience.

The exhibit celebrates the backgrounds and techniques unique to Berkeley Art Practice Professors. Professor Craig Nagasawa has gone so far as to morph his technique into a gallery display, presenting a cabinet full of the tools he uses to make paint out of rocks. His Japanese-inspired paintings are made solely with his own pigments, giving the work a unique shine.

Professor Katherine Sherwood’s three-piece sequence entitled “Worldly Wisdom” is one of my personal favorites. The professor has collaged linear abstractions with thick strokes of ethereal-colored paint to portray cerebral symbols such as the skull and brain. The result is a series of delicate yet powerful paintings that magnetically attract viewers.

The rest of the show is just as powerful, providing a glimpse into the lives of Berkeley’s talented Art Practice faculty. The show is open until November 17^th for free admission. Make your way over to see the creativity that permeates throughout the Berkeley Art Department!

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