The Moss Arts Center’s fall exhibitions feature work by four women artists who explore alter egos, imaginary personae, and personal and political history to explore conceptions of the female self. Steeped in fantasy, myth, and allegory, the work weaves intriguing stories while addressing the strengths, vulnerabilities, and challenges of being a woman.

The exhibitions will be on view in the galleries of the Moss Arts Center, 190 Alumni Mall. The galleries and all related events are free and open to the public.

This suite of four one-person exhibitions feature:

Susan Jamison, “Enchantment”

  • Sept. 1 – Oct. 8 in the Ruth C. Horton Gallery
  • Jamison’s egg tempera paintings capture enchanted moments from her highly feminized vision of nature and explore its relationship to female identity and experience. Her allegorical paintings of women and animals are drawn from personal narratives, myths, folk tales, and dreams.
  • Her work has been exhibited in museums and galleries nationwide, including solo exhibitions at the Taubman Museum of Art in Roanoke, Virginia, and the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She also has work in several collections including the Indianapolis Museum of Art; Mint Museum, Charlotte, North Carolina; the Eleanor D. Wilson Museum at Hollins University; and numerous private collections. Jamison’s work has been featured in three volumes of “New American Paintings.”
  • Jamison lives and works in Roanoke, Virginia, and holds a master of fine arts degree in painting from the Rhode Island School of Design.
  • The opening reception for Jamison’s exhibition will be held on Thursday, Sept. 1, from 5- 7 p.m., and she will present an artist talk that evening at 6 p.m. in the Ruth C. Horton Gallery.

Kenyatta A.C. Hinkle

  • Sept. 8 – Nov. 28 in the Francis T. Eck Exhibition Corridor
  • This exhibition features drawing, photographs, collage, and mixed media works on paper and wood panel. Hinkle focuses on the perception and misperception of the black female body – from the late 19th century and early 20th century to the present. Her work addresses difficult issues surrounding race, class, and objectification by examining the power dynamics between the gaze, the subject, and the viewer through a term that she has coined – “The Historical Present.”
  • Hinkle is an interdisciplinary visual artist, writer, and performer. Her work and experimental writing has been exhibited and performed at the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York; Project Row Houses in Houston, Texas; the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, California; and the Museum of Art at the University of New Hampshire. Hinkle recently conducted research at the University of Lagos in Lagos, Nigeria, as a U.S. Fulbright Fellow.
  • Hinkle received a master of fine arts degree in art and critical studies/creative writing from the California Institute of the Arts and a bachelor’s degree in painting from the Maryland Institute College of Art. She lives and works in Los Angeles, California.
  • Hinkle will present an artist talk at 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 18 in the Moss Arts Center’s Merryman Family Learning Studio.

Amy Cutler

  • Sept. 15 – Dec. 10 in the Miles C. Horton Jr. Gallery and Sherwood Payne Quillen ’71 Reception Gallery
  • Often described as surreal and whimsical, Cutler’s detailed drawings, prints, and gouache-on-paper paintings present a quirky and fantastical world of individuals engaged in strange, enigmatic, and never-ending tasks. Informed by a range of sources, including Persian miniatures and the artist’s own experiences, Cutler’s intriguing works comment on the many absurdities and challenges that often characterize women’s lives.  
  • Cutler is a nationally acclaimed artist who has had solo exhibitions at the Indianapolis Museum of Art; Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City, Kansas; the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota; and the Institute of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her work is included in the collections of the Nacional Centro de Arte Reina in Sofía, Madrid; the Hammer Museum at University of California, Los Angeles; and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, and Whitney Museum of American Art in New York.
  • Amy Cutler received a bachelor of fine arts degree from the Cooper Union School of Art in New York. She lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
  • The opening reception for Cutler’s exhibition will be held on Thursday, Sept. 15, from 5-7 p.m., and she will present an artist talk that evening at 6 p.m. in the Miles C. Horton Jr. Gallery.

Lynn Hershman Leeson

  • Oct. 20 – Dec. 10 in the Ruth C. Horton Gallery
  • Artist and filmmaker Leeson is internationally recognized for her work as a media artist and her pioneering contributions in photography, video, film, performance, and installation and interactive art. Her innovative work investigates societal issues, such as the relationship between humans and technology, identity, surveillance, and the use of media as a tool of empowerment against censorship and political repression. A number of her works have revolved around invented female personae, alter egos, or avatars as a means to explore identity.
  • Leeson’s work has been featured in over 200 large-scale exhibitions throughout the world, including a survey in 2012 at the Kunsthalle Bremen in Germany and a retrospective exhibition organized and presented by the Zentrum fur Kunst Und Medientechnologie (ZKM). Her work is in the collections of major museums, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as well as many private collections.
  • She is professor emerita at the University of California, Davis, and lives and works in San Francisco, California, and New York City.
  • Leeson will present an artist talk on Friday, Oct. 21, at 7:30 p.m. in the Moss Arts Center’s Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre as part of the 2016 Southeastern College Art Conference. Other related events include a screening of Leeson’s film, “!Women Art Revolution,” on Tuesday, Oct. 18, at 7 p.m. at the Lyric Theatre, and a related exhibition of her work at the Armory Gallery from Oct. 18-Nov. 18.

Click through the photo gallery to see work from each artist featured in the fall exhibitions:

Exhibitions at the Moss Art Center are curated by Margo Ann Crutchfield, curator at large. Susan Jamison's "Enchantment" exhibition is curated by Meggin Hicklin, exhibition program manager.

The Moss Arts Center offers many opportunities for students, faculty, and community members to engage with artists and their work. To arrange a group tour of the galleries, or for information on presenting a My Take talk in the galleries, contact Meggin Hicklin.

The Moss Arts Center’s galleries are regularly open Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m.– 5:30 p.m., and Saturday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Parking is available in the North End Parking Garage on Turner Street. Virginia Tech faculty and staff possessing a valid Virginia Tech parking permit can enter and exit the garage free of charge. Limited street parking is also available. Parking on Alumni Mall is free on weekdays after 5 p.m. and on weekends.

If you are an individual with a disability and desire an accommodation, please contact Kacy McAllister at 540-231-5300 or email kmcallis@vt.edu during regular business hours at least 10 business days prior to an event.

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