November 9, 2006

 
LIVINGSTON, Ala.--The University of West Alabama introduces the fifth installment of the UWA Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition, with four new sculptures already in place on the Livingston campus and two more to be added in the spring.

“As with each exhibition in the past, we hope to expand the viewer’s knowledge and appreciation of contemporary art,” said assistant art professor Nick Davis, director of the exhibition. “For this exhibition, we have sculptors bringing work from all parts of the country. They come from as far away as Maine and New Mexico, but as close to home as Tuscaloosa.”

The exhibition, a continuing showcase of outdoor sculpture by contemporary artists, will remain for approximately 24 months, with new work arriving every two years. In conjunction with the exhibition, UWA will also display works from the permanent collection. The sculptures are placed at sites throughout UWA’s campus, allowing students, faculty and visitors casual enjoyment.

Pieces recently installed on campus include “Blue” and “Buddha Bell Stone,” works of granite and glass by Maine artist Antoinette Prien Schultze. North Carolinian Wayne Trapp’s stainless steel “Arch Entry” and Alabamian Chad Vickery’s limestone and litho ink “Random Routine” are also installed.

“This particular group of sculptors will provide for an exciting exhibit,” Davis said. “Each works in a wide variety of materials, from the traditional stone, wood and steel to the more experimental plastic, glass and found objects.” 

Two more sculptures will arrive in the spring, one by New York artist Paul Outlaw and one by New Mexico artist Matthew Chase-Daniel. Chase-Daniel’s sculpture, partially sponsored by the Sucarnochee Folklife Festival, will be made from natural materials he finds around the region. Outlaw, originally from Alabama, will create several life-sized, realistic pigeons from cast plastic and metal. He will then create an “Urban Camouflage” for the pigeons, allowing them to blend in with the environment of the campus.

The UWA Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition is sponsored in part by the Sumter County Fine Arts Council. Campus visitors may pick up a catalog featuring reproductions of each work and a map of sculpture locations. For more information about the exhibition, contact Nick Davis at (205) 652-3487.