More than 100 sculptures are now being featured across campus as part of the Tri-State Sculptors Exhibition, which comes to Elon University this fall for the first time since 1989.
The exhibition is a partnership between Elon University and the Tri-State Sculpture Educational Association. More than 50 artists are being showcased ranging from internationally known sculptors to those just beginning their professional careers.
Professor Michael Sanford said planning for this event has been ongoing for more than a year. Given the developments in the Department of Art since the last time the exhibition took place at Elon, Sanford said, he considered the university a natural choice to host the event again.
“Elon was a different place then,” he said. “We were just in our second year of establishing our exhibition program. Twenty years later, the department has grown, and the breadth and range of our programs are more diverse.”
This diversity, Sanford said, is vital to this current exhibition.
The public is invited to attend an Oct. 3 closing reception in the Isabella Cannon Room starting at 6 p.m. Artists will be present to discuss their work during the free event.
Unlike many art collections, the sculptures in the exhibition are accessible to both avid and casual art fans. Viewers will find that these sculptures vary in size, material, and concept; some are realistic while others are highly abstract.
Sanford, who has several works being showcased at the event, credits the quality of art students here at Elon for being receptive of the exhibition.
“Because we have a more active and interested group of students, we volunteered to host the event knowing it would enhance our exhibition program and provide students and the public with a very good overview of contemporary sculpture,” he said.
The majority of the sculptures are featured in the Arts West Gallery and the Isabella Cannon room. Pieces can also be seen in Belk Library, Koury Business Center, Lindner Hall and outside McCrary Theatre.
– Written by Robert Wohner ‘11