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News Release

Last modified: Monday, September 28, 2009

IU's SoFA Gallery to present new sculpture exhibition that celebrates universal experiences

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 28, 2009

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The School of Fine Arts (SoFA) Gallery at Indiana University will present "Surface Structures," an exhibition of new work by Martha MacLeish, an IU professor of studio art, opening Friday, Oct. 16 and continuing through Friday, Nov. 20.

The opening reception will be Oct. 16, 6:30-8:30 p.m., in the SoFA Gallery. MacLeish, who directs the Fundamentals Studio at the Henry Radford School of Fine Arts, will give a gallery talk about her work at noon Friday, Nov.13. All events are free and open to the public.

"The works in Martha MacLeish's recent series illustrate a thorough understanding of space and color and a unique utilization of technology that is rare among painters," said Betsy Stirratt, director of IU's SoFA Gallery.

"Surface Structures" features curvilinear wall constructions that MacLeish said attempt to sum up the complex and contradictory nature of experience. Through her wall-forms, MacLeish says she works to isolate the spatial quirks and ambiguities that she finds so compelling in painting, and understanding how these can be experienced as forms that inhabit ourspace.

She also investigates how the strong, localized color of the plastics she uses can be made to behave more lithely through an optical mixture of stripes and through the overlay of transparent shadows as the forms bend in space.

"With the materials and forms that I use, I hope to encourage associations equally with ephemeral gesture and architectural structure," said MacLeish.

MacLeish recently exhibited in New York, Chicago and Montreal, among other venues. She received her MFA in painting from the Yale University School of Art.

For more information, contact the SoFA Gallery at 812-855-8490, send e-mail to sofa@indiana.edu, or visit https://sofa.fa.indiana.edu. The SoFA Gallery is accessible to people with disabilities. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Friday, 12-4 p.m., closed Sundays and Mondays.

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