March 3, 2003

DURHAM, N.H. -- Three talented artists transitioning from student to professional with the completion of a Master of Fine Arts degree at the University of New Hampshire will be featured in the 2003 M.F.A Thesis Exhibition.

The exhibition runs March 25 to April 16, with a preview reception set from 5 to 7 p.m., Monday, March 24.

Lindy Carroll untitled, 2002 oil on panel, 24 x 24 in.

The show features the works of up-and-coming artists who have completed two intense years of rigorous study, student teaching, and thesis work in the graduate painting program in the Department of Art and Art History. Their passion for art is palpable. They still are experimenting, finding their voices, and taking risks, the result of which is a grouping of paintings that are fresh, emotionally raw, and relevant.

Lindy Carroll, of Wheaton, Ill., is a painter fascinated by the sense of mystery evoked from certain places in our lives. Her colorful and lush paintings show spaces that are full of depth and at the same time, comfortably contained.

"To make pictures is to most closely express the reality of the world as I experience it. Much more than words, pictures are my language," she says. "I am interested in the transfiguring effects that light, darkness, weather and seasonal shifts have on a place. The visual stories that come about by means of everyday living are what strongly move me to make pictures."

Julie Heath of Clayton, Calif., is an artist whose thesis involves observation and invention. She looks at the world through certain objects and ideas, and then transforms that reality into something surreal. Her paintings depict realistic objects grouped in surprising arrangements.

"I draw and paint synthetically, initially working from observation, but quickly integrating invention. I use this process because I want my work to operate between a real and a surreal world. I don't paint with an agenda. My intuition guides me and my hope is that this intuitive and synthetic approach will result in having my images reveal something insightful," Heath says.

Nicole McCormick, of Avon, Ind., is a talented artist whose recent works focus on figure portraits from a psychological perspective. Most of her paintings are self-portraits or portraits of people very close her.

"Without the psychological feel I get from painting myself or loved ones my paintings become stale and uninvolved. I want to invite the viewer into the painting and its narrative. I want them to be able to identify with the people and spaces in the paintings provoking emotion more than thought. It's important to me to keep the painting's focus on psychological state and mood more so than the storyline," McCormick says.

ArtBreak Series: Wednesdays, noon

• March 26: Gallery Talk by exhibiting M.F.A. candidates Lindy Carroll, Julie Heath and Nicole McCormick.
  
• April 2: Slide Lecture, "Then and Now: Viewing Japan in the 19th and 21st Centuries" by Eleanor Hight, art historian, UNH Dept. of Art & Art History. Room A219.
  
• April 9: Concert featuring the Back Bay Guitar Trio with David Newsam, John Mason, and Steve Marchena, playing classical arrangements for guitar.
  
• April 16: Demonstration of Chinese brush painting by Shiao-Ping Wang, UNH lecturer and artist, Dept. of Art & Art History.

The UNH Art Gallery is located in the Paul Creative Arts Center, 30 College Road. Admission is free. Hours are Monday through Wednesday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; Thursday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m.; and Saturday and Sunday, 1-5 p.m. The Art Gallery is closed Fridays, University holidays and during exhibition changes.

School and other groups are welcome at The Art Gallery. Tours are offered free of charge with advance reservation and can be scheduled by calling the Outreach Program at 862-3713.

News Editors: Color slides are available upon request from Amanda Tappan, education and publicity coordinator, The Art Gallery. For more information call 603-862-3712 or send e-mail to art.gallery@unh.edu.

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