An opening reception is planned for Thursday, Aug. 31, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.

ASHLAND – The Ashland University Coburn Art Gallery and the Department of Art and Design will host Obsolescence, a group exhibition of new works that examines the idea of extinction, from Aug. 31 to Oct. 15, 2017.

The exhibition was curated by the Coburn’s director Cynthia Petry and includes the following artists: Mike Richison, Judith Brandon, Robyn Moore and Adrian Hatfield. An opening reception is planned for Thursday, Aug. 31, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.

Richison is a professor at Monmouth University in New Jersey, where he teaches Motion Graphics, History of Graphic Design and Typography. Much of Richison’s work deals with manufacturing, consumerism, evolution, appropriation and obsolescence. Amidst the detritus that is continuously thrown away, he searches for connections and relationships between materials and concepts while utilizing 3D printing technologies.

Brandon attended the Cleveland Institute of Art where she earned a BFA in enameling and drawing. She has been awarded numerous Best in Shows across the country for her large dynamic drawings as well as an Ohio Arts Council Grant and several solo exhibitions. Brandon’s work has currently been accepted into the National Weather Biennale in Norman, Okla., and Drawing Discourse and international juried show at the University of North Carolina, Asheville.

Nature makes Brandon expand with wonder and shrink with trepidation at the possibility of being devoured by it. To be an artist on this planet with so many losses and so many discoveries, Brandon addresses this juxtaposition through her paintings and drawings.

Moore is an assistant professor of photography at Morehead State University in Morehead, Ky. Moore has had her work exhibited widely, including at the South Australian Museum (Adelaide, SA, Australia) and the National Archives of Australia; Sydney College of the Arts in Sydney, Australia; the Texas Photographic Society in Johnson City Texas; the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art in Laurel, Miss.; the Meridian Museum of Art in Meridian, Miss.; the Danforth Museum of Art in Framingham, Mass.; Harvard University’s ‘Composer in Red Sneakers’ collaborative project series; the Cambridge Art Association in Cambridge, Mass.; the San Francisco International Film Festival; the Ann Arbor International Film Festival; and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Moore’s “Present, Near, and Deep” is a series of photographic artworks that focuses the investigation of biological remains and traces, such as fossils, bones, and preserved scientific specimens, through the creation of images made with hand-coated liquid silver gelatin photographic emulsion.

Hatfield is an assistant professor of painting at Wayne State University. Hatfield has been showing his work both nationally and internationally with solo and two-person exhibitions, which include Altered States at Jack the Pelican Presents in Brooklyn, N.Y.; Recent Work at ARC Gallery in Chicago, Ill.; and Suitable Illusions at the Northern Arizona University Art Museum. Recently, Hatfield was invited to take part in the NES Artist Residency in Skagastrond, Iceland.

Hatfield’s work consists of paintings and collages that sample and recombine art historical imagery, specifically from the industrial revolution and Romantic era, as well as scientific imagery to reflect on current and imminent environmental concerns. As he explores this dualistic theme through the remodeling of art-historical and scientific imagery, the resultant pieces are mournful, unnerving and yet oddly hopeful.

The gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 12 noon to 4p.m. on Saturday and Sunday and is free and open to the public. For more information about the reception or exhibition, call 419.289.5652 or visit us on Facebook.

The Life section is supported by Brethren Care Village in Ashland.

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