Contact: Tom Moore
410-455-3370
tmoore@umbc.edu

UMBC's Center for Art and Visual Culture presents three exhibitions as part of the Baltimore area-wide Tour de Clay, held in conjunction with the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts 2005 Conference. The exhibitions open on March 10th and continue through April 2nd. An opening reception for all three exhibitions will be held on Wednesday, March 16 from 5 to 7 pm at the Center for Art and Visual Culture.

The largest of the exhibitions -- and the largest Tour de Clay exhibition in Baltimore -- is the NCECA 2005 Clay National Exhibition, a nationally juried exhibition of emerging and established artists, including Tara Wilson, Stan Welsh, Wendy Walgate, John Utgaard, Virginia Trammell, Matthew Towers, Billie Jean Theide, Leigh Taylor Mickelson, Katherine Taylor, Chris Staley and 72 others. This exhibition will be presented in the Center for Art and Visual Culture's main exhibition space in the Fine Arts Building.

Series of Echoes: Anderson Ranch, featuring work by past and present Anderson Ranch resident artists, is curated by Jill Oberman and organized by the Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass Village, Colorado. Series of Echoes showcases the diversity and individual strengths of the artists in residence, and highlights the emerging and established artists who have left a legacy at the Anderson Ranch while contributing to the field of contemporary ceramics. Artists featured in the exhibition include Doug Casebeer, Brad Miller, Christa Assad, Ruth Borgenicht, Sam Chung, Michael Connelly, Julia Galloway, Sam Harvey, Giselle Hicks, Sinisa Kukec, Jae Won Lee, Alleghany Meadows, Jill Oberman, Rich Parsons, Pelusa Rosenthal, Bradley Walters and Michael Wisner. Series of Echoes will be presented in the Gallery on Upper Main at The Commons.

Contemporary Codex: Ceramics and the Book is a traveling invitational exhibition exploring the written word, curated by Holly Hanessian and Janet Williams and organized by the University Art Gallery, Central Michigan University. Participating artists include Lenny Goldberg, Holly Henessian, Barbara Hashimoto, Kimiyo Michima, Nancy Selvin, Richard Shaw, Forrest Snyder and Janet Williams. Ceramics and books share a common history: The earliest book forms, imbued with power and intimacy, were cuneiforms, small terra cotta tablets with orderly symbols easily tucked into a side sleeve and carried around. The book objects or installations in this exhibition stretch the boundaries of both ceramics and the book form, interpreting the book with integrity and a variety of aesthetic viewpoints. Contemporary Codex will be on display on the Second Floor of The Commons in Room 2B24. A full-color catalog with essays from both curators will be available for purchase at the CAVC for $10.

About the Center for Art and Visual Culture
The Center for Art and Visual Culture is a non-profit organization dedicated to the study of contemporary art and visual culture, critical theory, art and cultural history, and the relationship between society and the arts. The CAVC serves as a forum for students, faculty, and the general public for the discussion of important aesthetic and social issues of the day. Disciplines represented include painting, sculpture, drawing, printmaking, photography, digital art, video, film, television, design, architecture, advertising, and installation and performance art.

Since 1989, the CAVC has incorporated a number of public programs into its exhibition programming schedule to further impact the communities it serves. Symposia, lecture series, conferences, film series, visiting artist series, and residencies have all been fundamental in an effort to create an ongoing dialogue about contemporary art and culture. The Center has also initiated a number of projects with Baltimore and surrounding schools systems to integrate the contemporary artist and their concerns into the classroom. These projects take place on-site at both middle schools and high schools and are team taught by the instructors at these schools, professional artists, and students from the CAVC's Internship Program.

Currently the Center produces one to two exhibition catalogues each year. Each document is fully illustrated and contains critical essays on the given subject by a variety of distinguished professionals in the field. Recent publications include Postmodernism: A Virtual Discussion and Paul Rand: Modernist Design. These catalogues are published yearly and are distributed internationally through Distributed Art Publishers in New York.

Since 1992, the Center for Art and Visual Culture has actively pursued the organization of exhibitions that contain the aesthetic, theoretical, and educational potential to reach both a national and international audience. Over the years, the CAVC has traveled these exhibition projects to a broad spectrum of museums, professional non-profit galleries, and universities national and internationally. These traveling exhibitions include:

• White: Whiteness and Race in Contemporary Art (2003)
• Fred Wilson: Objects and Installations (2001)
• Adrian Piper: A Retrospective (1999)
• Bruno Monguzzi: A Designer's Perspective (1998)
• Minimal Politics (1997)
• Kate Millet, Sculpture: The First 38 Years (1997)
• Layers: Contemporary Collage from St. Petersburg, Russia (1995/96)
• Notes In Time: Leon Golub and Nancy Spero (1995)
• Ciphers of Identity (1994)

Beyond the scope of these traveling exhibitions, the Center for Art and Visual Culture also undertakes an exhibition schedule that includes a Faculty Biennial, and projects such as the Joseph Beuys Tree Partnership. As part of the educational mission of the CAVC, one graduate thesis exhibition and one undergraduate senior exhibition are scheduled on a yearly basis.

This multi-faceted focus for presenting exhibitions, projects and scholarly research publications focused on contemporary art and cultural issues positions the Center for Art and Visual Culture in a unique position within the mid-Atlantic region.

May 18 – June 18
The Senior Exit Exhibition. This exhibition reflects the interdisciplinary orientation and the technological focus of the Department of Visual Arts and provides the opportunity for undergraduate seniors to exhibit within a professional setting prior to exiting the University. An opening reception will be held on May 18 from 5 to 7 pm.

Hours of Operation
Sunday: Closed
Monday: Closed
Tuesday: 10 A.M. – 5:00 P.M.
Wednesday: 10 A.M. – 5:00 P.M.
Thursday: 10 A.M. – 5:00 P.M.
Friday: 10 A.M. – 5:00 P.M.
Saturday: 10 A.M. – 5:00 P.M.

Admission
Admission to the CAVC and all events is free.

Telephone
CAVC offices: 410-455-3188
UMBC Artsline (24 hour recorded message): 410-455-ARTS
Media inquiries only: 410-455-3370

Web
CAVC website: http://www.umbc.edu/cavc
UMBC Arts website: http://www.umbc.edu/arts
UMBC News Releases: http://www.umbc.edu/newsevents/oci/index.phtml?r=Art

Directions

• From Baltimore and points north, proceed south on I-95 to exit 47B. Take Route 166 toward Catonsville and then follow signs to the Fine Arts Building
• From I-695, take Exit 12C (Wilkens Avenue) and continue one-half mile to the entrance of UMBC at the roundabout intersection of Wilkens Avenue and Hilltop Road. Turn left and follow signs to the Fine Arts Building
• From Washington and points south, proceed north on I-95 to Exit 47B. Take Route 166 toward Catonsville and then follow signs to the Fine Arts Building
• Daytime metered visitor parking is available in Lot 10, near the Administration Building. Visitor parking regulations are enforced on all University calendar days. Hilltop Circle and all campus roadways require a parking permit unless otherwise marked
• Online campus map: http://www.umbc.edu/aboutumbc/campusmap/

Images for Media
High resolution images for media are available online: http://www.umbc.edu/newsevents/arts/hi-res/ or by email or postal mail.