The Coburn Art Gallery opened a new exhibition Oct. 11 called “Art + Design faculty exhibition.”

Michael Bird, Professional Instructor of Graphic Design and Digital Art, is one of the five featured artists. His piece is a video installation.

“We are all constantly continuing our research and this show is a snapshot of where we are in our collective, continuing development at present,” Bird said. “Not only is it an opportunity to share our work, but it’s part of the conversation we have with our students, showing them where their work could go if it interests them.”

Priscilla Roggenkamp, Associate Professor of Art, is another featured artist of this exhibition.

“My artwork is called Keepers of the Faith,” Roggenkamp said. “It is made from recycled clothing. I like using [recycled clothing] because clothes carry signifiers such as status, gender, and age. It is also an environmentally friendly medium. I deconstruct each article of clothing and put it together as a new form.”

Roggenkamp’s piece is open interpretation. Contrasting the oxford shirts with floral prints shows opposites in only one form of art.

“The title Keepers of the Faith operates of several levels for me,” Roggenkamp said. “I’ll leave you guessing here. Is this a religious connotation? Is it personal? Are there many ways in which we keep faith with other people or with ourselves?”

This exhibition is a taste for students and the public to get to know the faculty department members.

“I think students should take full advantage of all the cultural opportunities that present
themselves at a University,” Bird said. “We have a fantastic selection of music, theatre, and fine art programming and where better to grow your understanding of culture than at a University? You have approachable professionals who can introduce you and are always interested in teaching about what they do to students. If you’ve ever seen art and wondered what it was all about, this show is a great conversation starter.”

For the Art Department, this exhibition is showing how each artist went about their research. It also invites viewers to see the conversation each artist conveys with their art.

“We invite you to participate in that conversation, to share our grand and silly, enigmatic and humorous, and sometimes even profound ideas,” Roggenkamp said.

Other featured artists are Keith Dull, Dan McDonald, and Cynthia Petry.

“If you are already a fan of fine art, this is an opportunity to see what Ashland’s own are working on,” Bird said. “We have a pretty broad selection of approaches in this show, from fiber work to sculpture, to mixed media, to prints, to video installation. There’s something for everyone and maybe some exposure to kinds of artwork you haven’t seen before.”

The exhibition will run until Nov. 17. The gallery is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and weekends from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.