2005 student art show opens April 28 with celebration

2005 student art show opens
April 28 with celebration

“OUTPUT,” the 42nd annual Rice Student Art Exhibition, opens to the public on Thursday, April 28, and will be on view until May 14. The opening celebration will take place at two locations on campus, starting at Rice Gallery from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. and continuing at Rice Media Center from 7 to 9 p.m.

Featured in Rice Gallery will be work in a variety of media by graduating visual arts majors chosen by guest curator Brendan Mulcahy, artist and 2005 graduate of the Rice School of Architecture. Festivities at this location will include a performance by the Rice Dance Theatre at 6 p.m. and remarks by Mulcahy at 6:15 p.m. Music will be spun by a KTRU DJ throughout the opening, and complimentary ice cream, cookies, soda, wine and ale served by Saint Arnold’s Brewing Company.

Undergraduate work selected by the Department of Visual Arts faculty will be on view at Rice Media Center, where an awards ceremony will take place at 7:30 p.m. Student Film “Flicks” will be screened starting at 8:08 p.m.
Mulcahy will give a gallery talk at noon Friday, April 29, in the Rice Gallery lobby. A complimentary lunch will be provided for all in attendance.

All events are free and open to the public, and many student works will be available for purchase. Visitors can walk between the two venues or take a free campus shuttle bus.

“OUTPUT,” the act of producing something during a fixed period of time, is an apt title for an exhibition by graduating visual art majors. Each year the Rice Gallery creates a special theme for each year’s exhibition.

“The title reflects the journey undertaken by the students in their studies at Rice,” Mulcahy said. “While students, they progressed considerably, and this show is the fruit of their labors, intellectually and artistically. This show is their output.”
Mulcahy is conducting studio visits with the students before the exhibition opens, providing guidance about writing artist statements and selecting works. He said the process is rewarding because the students are so open. “There is an honesty in their work,” Mulcahy said. “They are not afraid to share their opinions. It is refreshing being around their energy, and my goal is a show that will make them proud of their efforts as artists at this school.”

Mulcahy holds a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, Connecticut, and will receive a master of architecture degree from Rice University in May. He served for many years as an assistant to renowned artist Sol LeWitt. A practicing artist himself, Mulcahy has exhibited extensively, most recently at Barbara Davis Gallery in Houston in 2004. He also received Rice University’s Jessie Matthews Memorial Award in Art in 2004.