Alumnus artists featured in on-campus gallery

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By Preston Wittwer

If art is a reflection of society, then viewing works of art that show the intersection of faith and everyday life is one that will resonate with BYU students.

A new exhibit, “Transformed by Light: Exploring Personal Enlightenment” will run now through Oct. 28 in the main B.F. Larsen Gallery,  in the main lobby of the Harris Fine Arts Center. The exhibit features six artists who have all received degrees from BYU — David Linn, Andrew Ballstaedt, Casey Jex Smith, Mani Felici, Tyson Monson and Colin Nesbit.

The exhibition has largely been organized and prepared by undergraduate students on the  BYU Visual Arts Department’s Faith in Works committee. This marks the third year in a row an exhibit by the committee has been featured in the Larsen Gallery. This year the exhibit is being curated by two individuals — an assistant professor and a student.

James Swensen, an assistant professor, works in the Department of Visual Arts and has been involved with every exhibit the Faith in Works Committee has organized. Work for the current exhibit started six months ago, with various students writing the thesis, preparing the catalogue, drafting artist biographies and designing the display.

“For the past three years we’ve been putting together exhibitions through the visual arts,” Swensen said. “Every year we’ve tried to put together an exhibit that allows alumni to come back and exhibit work through a curated show.”

Spencer Twelmeyer, a senior from Milwaukee, Wisc., studying art history, was selected by the committee to co-curate the show. With different art forms ranging from photography, paintings and textiles, the exhibit is meant to showcase the different artistic processes of the featured artists.

“It definitely makes me think about the diverse way in which artists look at and produce their work,” Twelmeyer said. “It helps me be opened minded and see different work and understand the current art world.  We’re bringing a diverse group of artists together that have had success in the contemporary art world. Some artists students might be familiar with, other artists they might not be as familiar with — but they have been having a lot of success even outside of Utah.”

The Larsen Gallery is open  from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. and admission is free.

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