October 15 - November 5, 2015
Reunion continues FGCU’s dedication to alumni artists to create exhibitions showcasing their talent and the positive impact the Art Program at FGCU is having on the region. For this season, Carrell Courtright (‘10), Megan Davis (‘13), and Tarra Wood (‘11) present a stylistic mixture that offers commentary on social values, environmental analogies, and an examination of the human psyche and our behaviors.
ARTLAB GALLERY - Sponsored in part by U. Tobe and WGCU Public Media
Carrell Courtright, Recycle Series, 2015, linocut. Courtesy of the artist.
Carrell Courtright '10
Courtright produced work for this exhibition about beauty and finding a path that is a seed for a better future. His images from a scrap yard are initially a look at waste, but under the surface of the subject lies a sustainable practice of repurposing and reusing these materials. Batteries and LEDs are integrated into a circuitry established by Courtright’s use of a conductive paint in his silkscreening process thus representing a reclamation of energy through a reuse of discarded materials. The LEDs provide evidence of the electricity flowing through the print. Ever moving electricity is provided as a symbol of a continually changing culture as well as his hope that we can bring about positive change in our environmental practices. He considers the work in this series to be kinetic art on a molecular level.
Courtright is the Studio Technician for the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation’s Residency Program in Captiva, FL. In his capacity there, he is able to explore process and materials as he assists internationally recognized artists in their own endeavors.
Megan Davis, The Soul’s Endeavor, 2015, linocut. Courtesy of the artist.
Megan Davis '13
Davis graduated from FGCU with a degree in art and psychology. She uses linocuts, woodcuts, and collographic prints to draw aspects of art history and psychological concepts together for her viewers. Davis incorporates her keen interest in Art Therapy as part of her compositions. Her ultimate goal is to become an art therapist for children. Davis is currently a substitute art teacher for Lee County and working on her teaching certification with FGCU’s Teacher Immersion Program. She recently completed her second summer teaching at BIG Arts Summer Arts Camp.
She exhibits her work in the southwest Florida area and enters art competitions nationally. Her linocut series entitled “When Wolves Run” was exhibited in Grand Rapids, Michigan as part of the 2013 ArtPrize, an independently organized international art competition.
Tarra Wood, Cigarettes, 2015 polymer clay sculpture. Courtesy of the artist.
Tarra Wood
Wood works in a style that often comments or takes on popular culture and American societal values. As part of her inclusion in this exhibition, Wood will expand her wall sculpture series, “Vices” which invites viewers to be in touch with their own or other’s moral faults or weaknesses of character.
Wood continues to exhibit in juried art exhibitions in the continuing development of her career as an artist and graphic designer. In 2011, her work exhibited at Art Fair Now during Art Basel. She recently showed in the 63rd All Florida Juried Competition and Exhibition at the Boca Raton Museum of Art.
As a continuation of her work as an independent artist and designer, Wood has opened an Etsy shop, WalrusandToad.com, in order to reach more clients interested in supporting artists through the purchase of original works.
