Cedar Falls artist opens Gallery season

A Cedar Falls artist will open the 2016-2017 Bing-Davis Memorial Gallery season at Upper Iowa University’s (UIU) Fayette Campus. Angela Waseskuk will discuss her exhibit entitled, “Knocking the Dust Off: A Collection of Desperate Acts to Find a Way Home” at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 25, with a reception to follow from 3:30-5 p.m. The artwork will remain on display at Bing-Davis Memorial Gallery through Friday, Sept. 30.

Waseskuk received her BFA in painting in 2003 from the University of Northern Iowa and her MFA in Sculpture and Dimensional Studies in 2007 from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. In 2002, she studied at the Yale Summer School of Art in Norfolk, Conn., and in 2005, she was an artist-in-residence at the Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, Vt. She is currently the University of Northern Iowa Foundations coordinator and an adjunct instructor of art.

In Waseskuk’s recent work, she has become very aware of her interests in the “quotidian, the fleeting and the finite.”

“How do we choose to mark our days, punctuate our lives? For most, the rhythm of life lies in everyday tasks and our ability to conquer this repetitive minutia; meals, sleep, dusting, dishes, laundry, grocery lists, to-do lists, drive to work, drive home, feed the dog, walk the dog,” said Waseskuk. “My work alludes to this repetition in its process and becomes inseparable from the work itself.

“There is comfort in identifying with the way a piece is made and that familiarity can act as a way into the work for the viewer,” she added. “Chewed gum is preserved in nail polish, construction paper dots left over from a hole-punch are glued back to back, a stack of paper has been slowly worn away by hand, yarn has been crocheted into long lengths of rope and latch hooked into one massive heart. These simple acts are the language of life, and I work this way to tell my own stories with the hope that others will be able to relate to them through their own experiences.”

The remaining Bing-Davis Memorial Gallery artist schedule is as follows:

• October 4 – November 4: Mark Haltof, Homecoming reception 2:30-4:30 p.m. Friday, October 7
• November 10 – December 16: Josue Pellot, reception 3:30-5 p.m. Thursday, November 10
• January 12 – February 10: Lauren Meranda and Anna Filbert, reception 3:30-5 p.m. Thursday, January 12
• February 16 – March 17: Kenneth Hall, reception 3:30-5 p.m. Thursday, February 16
• March 20 – April 5: BA Senior Thesis Exhibitions, reception TBA
• April 7: Northeast Iowa High School Art Show
• April 17 – May 6: BA Senior Thesis Exhibitions; reception TBA.

Bing-Davis Memorial Gallery is located in Edgar Fine Arts Hall at UIU’s Fayette Campus. The gallery is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.