Women III art exhibit is a meaningful art exhibit done by alumni Kim Abeles and The Bridge club
A new exhibit was erected at the Kennedy Museum of Art over the weekend, completing a three-part series exploring feminism in art.
Women III uses work by female artists with an emphasis on contemporary artwork and features the work of Ohio University alumnae.
The first exhibition was roughly work made prior to the first wave of feminism in the early 20th century, the second was work from the second feminist movement in the early ’60s, and the third is work made after 1990.
These exhibits gives students a chance to experience something like never before.
“I am hoping that students will be able to experience the (Kennedy Museum of Art’s) collections as they did with the previous two exhibitions,” said Jennie Klein, associate professor of art history in an email.
Klein added that she hopes students will also be inspired by the examples of Kim Abeles and Annie Strader, two former Bobcats themselves with art in the museum.
Abeles will have more than 10 pieces in the Women III exhibit with an art piece that students will be able to interact with.
While Strader’s work in the museum is separate but complementary to Women III, Abeles' independent work on “Frugal World,” exploring the theme of societies desire for excess vs. the need for practicality, is featured prominently in Women III.
“Jennie (Klein) had a great idea that because I am an alumni and very active in the art world that it would be very appropriate to also have my work there,” Abeles said. “So they picked a lot of different works that I’ve done because I’m very subject base for my art work.”
Bringing in alumnae artists was a good idea because some students, such as Savannah Mckenna, feel both former and present Bobcats will always have a connection with one another.
“I think it’s better to bring in Bobcats than anyone else,” said Mckenna, a freshman studying biomedical sciences. “They’re more than relatable. They’ve been here and they’ve been through it all and they know where our opinions lie and they understand us.”
Abeles is coming to OU to speak on Oct. 21, giving a lecture on her work that will be in the and out of the Women III art exhibit.
She will discuss how she went from being a painter, to doing instillation art and large public art works around the city of Los Angeles.
Abeles has many successes during her profession but said receiving the Guggenheim Fellowship last year was a major highlight and what most people in the art world know her for.
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