Galleries Present Five New Shows in March

The Rowe, Storrs, and Projective Eye Galleries of the College of Arts + Architecture will present five new exhibitions in March.

Opening in Rowe Upper Galleries on March 6, with a reception on March 11, are Angela Franks Wells: Copper Mine and Jason Lee: Structured Environments.

Angela Franks Wells is a photography-based artist who specializes in 19^th-century photographic processes and is a master at copperplate photogravure. Her work explores a range of ideas including the precious vs. ephemera, labor and craftsmanship, beauty, and place and/or space. Wells was born and raised in California and received her BA in Studio Art and Psychology from Scripps College. After spending three years teaching with Teach for America in rural North Carolina, she moved back west. In 2006, Wells received her MFA from Arizona State University. Currently, she is assistant professor of photography at East Carolina University in Greenville, NC.

Jason Lee, a multi-media sculptor and installation artist, incorporates a wide variety of materials and techniques into his oddly humorous constructions and presentations. In some of Lee's most recent work he utilizes custom fabricated light boxes as well as cast plastic ducks and extruded foam fences to create his vision of the ideal landscape. Lee is currently assistant professor of sculpture and foundations coordinator in the Division of Art and Design at West Virginia University in Morgantown.

Currently an Artist-In-Residence at the McColl Center for Visual Art, Erin V. Sotak is collaborating with UNC Charlotte professor Mary Bahji Tuma's Installation class to create an interactive and experimental exhibition, I Like Swap, which opens in the Rowe Main Gallery with a reception on March 18.  The focus of the collaboration is to encourage students to take risks in expression, experimentation, and exploration as they develop a personal visual language.  The public is encouraged to participate by bringing an item to the space to swap.  Students participating include Jenna Colhouer, Sreffan Dussault, Katelyn Flanagan, Michael Haag, Kendra Harris, Laura Knight, April McLaurin, Matthew Shinn and Ali Smith. Sotak received a BFA from the University of Arizona and a MFA from San Jose State University. She has exhibited her work throughout the United States including the Phoenix Art Museum.

All three shows in Rowe Galleries close on April 3.

The UNC Charlotte School of Architecture and Storrs Gallery present Between Research and Practice, an installation of models, renderings, and projection from Axi:Ome, an architecture design and research practice based in St. Louis, MO.  The exhibition opens in Storrs Gallery on March 11 with a reception from 5:30 to 7:30 pm.

The name Axi:Ome is derived from the crossing of two Latin words: the noun axiom (a self-evident or universally recognized truth) and the verb forme (to form, compose, or assemble). The practice is led by Sung Ho Kim and Heather Woofter, both on the architecture faculty at Washington University in St. Louis.

A unique installation created especially for Storrs Gallery will place models along an elevated serpentine path that winds through the room, with 2D representations mounted and projected along the walls. Sung Ho Kim and Heather Woofter will be present for the opening reception to speak about their work. The exhibition closes on April 26.

Center City’s Projective Eye Gallery presents Favelas: Architecture of Survival March 9 through May 30, with an opening reception on March 22. Favelas: Architecture of Survival includes 48 large format photographs by Brazilian photographer Pedro Lobo, documenting the favelas or shanty towns in Rio de Janeiro, the longest-lived squatter settlements in the world.  Lobo’s photographic landscapes document the organized chaos of hillsides overrun with homes. The photographs suggest a progression toward permanence, as people put down roots and build communities within these impromptu urban developments. These images attempt to show the human dignity of the “favela” dwellers, in spite of all the difficulties faced by those who have no other choice but to live in these excluded communities.

The opening reception on March 22 includes Brazilian dance and music, remarks by Pedro Lobo, and “Negotiating the Gap,” a panel discussion on transitional housing.