Denison professor exhibits work at prestigious Whitney Biennial 2017

GRANVILLE, Ohio— Denison University professor Sheilah Wilson’s recent collaborative video work made with Dani Leventhal, assistant professor at Ohio State University, premieres at the Whitney Biennial on April 22 and 23, 2017. The new work, “SOTD (Strangely Ordinary This Devotion),” depicts images of ordinary life that resonate with the larger themes of motherhood, queer desire, the environment and domestic life, both real and fantastic. The Whitney Biennial is the longest running survey of contemporary art in the United States, with a history of exhibiting the most promising and influential artists and provoking lively debate. A curatorial team for the biennial invites artists whose work they believe to have particular significance in the contemporary world.

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“The work deals with ideas of how we can construct new narrative structure and sense through the lexicon of our own lives. I feel that the potential of the domestic space as one of radicality is an important way to re-imagine the world and present it visually,” said Wilson.

“SOTD” is part of a screening of Leventhal’s works at the biennial. Wilson and Leventhal plan to continue their collaboration with a second video.

“I am very excited to have the work included,” said Wilson. “I think that professionally this will be an important credit, and will help us to realize our second video we want to make, and in general give us the momentum to continue to make the work that we feel committed to.” In addition, the Whitney has commissioned a series of broadsides – photos and texts – by Wilson and Leventhal that will be sold in the museum store during the biennial.

Wilson joined the Department of Studio Art in 2009. She holds a bachelor's from Mount Allison University in New Brunswick; a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Nova Scotia College of Art & Design; and a Master of Fine Arts from Goldsmiths, University of London. Wilson has exhibited her work nationally in Canada and the U.S., as well as England, New Zealand and Israel.

Denison University’s place at the forefront of higher education is recognized by “Colleges That Change Lives,” U.S. News, and Forbes, among others. Denison is a leading national college of liberal arts and sciences where students from around the world come to pursue academic inquiry and research, to analyze and solve problems, and to forge the skills needed to succeed. On a beautiful, fully residential campus, located minutes from Forbes-rated #1 Opportunity City, Columbus, Ohio, students build enduring relationships and pathways to the professions, supported by faculty mentorship in classrooms, laboratories and studios; through a wealth of career-launch programs and internships; and in partnership with a thriving, far-reaching alumni network.

Studio San Giuseppe Exhibition Announcement

(Cincinnati, OH) – Studio San Giuseppe Art Gallery at Mount St. Joseph University is honored to present “alchemize: SCULPTURES • JAN & MARK WIESNER” (March 3 – April 9, 2017).  This exhibition features sculptural reliefs, grounded in the natural world, that through an alchemization of materials and form speak of stories told and concepts explored.  The public is cordially invited to celebrate with Jan and Mark during the opening reception, which will be held Friday, March 3, 6:00 – 9:00 pm, with a Gallery Talk at 7pm.

Jan and Mark Wiesner, husband and wife, maintain a working studio at the Pendleton Arts Center and actively exhibit throughout the Tri-State. Both are retired Art teachers having completed their teaching careers at The Summit Country Day School in Cincinnati, OH.  Jan and Mark have individually been recognized for numerous awards in education during the tenure of their careers; including the highest honors for the Ohio Art Education Association, Outstanding Art Educator of the year.  Mark & Jan have also been awarded multiple fellowships and grants.

Jan creates figurative ceramic sculptures that have a story to tell. The stories are explorations of the fairy tales that are part of our culture and surround and affect women and their lives. Like all fairy tales her pieces deal with the distortions between what is and what society’s expectations are. They deal with those emotional responses that are often hidden for fear of condemnation. The sculptures also tend to speak of natural and the unnatural aspects of our lives.

Making a mark in space - within a restrained format, is where Mark's work begins. It's intended to reference the synergybetween drawing and sculpture, between nature and abstraction. His wall reliefs employ a formal vocabulary. The moving and arching lines, shapes, and textures are embodiments of a rhetoric sometimes held out for the architect.  It is also rooted in being true to the material. He brings a meticulous, technical rigor to bear on sometimes delicate and mundane materials. He works to reclaim, to reuse materials that are at times pulled from the waste stream of life. His use of the recycled is intended to be transformative, magical, at times subversive. And, it is within these materials that 'marks' are the essential feature, the backbone of his work.