MONMOUTH, Ill. — “Contradictions in Clay and Concept,” an exhibition of ceramics by Monmouth College senior Alexis Oddson, will be on display March 29 through April 14 in the college’s Len G. Everett Gallery.

A reception for the artist will be held April 1 at 2 p.m. in the gallery, which is located on the second floor of Hewes Library. Both the exhibit and the reception are free and open to the public.

Oddson’s exhibit is the first of two senior art exhibitions being held this spring. The second phase of the exhibit, featuring the works of two additional senior artists, Jeniah Chesser of Wyoming and Kelly Caruso of Channahon, will be on display April 19 through May 5. The senior art exhibitions are a longtime tradition at the college and are notable for their eclectic mix of artistic media and pieces.

In describing the works that will appear in her exhibition, Oddson, an art major from Richton Park, said, “Overall, the work in this show visually captures the dualities I have found in working with clay, facing the challenges of understanding between mortal and immortal, perfection and expression, function and idea.

“I find duality with the inner desire to connect with the transient experience of wet clay, and the human desire for immortality,” she says. “I have found with clay both are possible. Through the firing process, what was once malleable to my command and controlled by my pure desire will become rock, a record which captures the living moment for eternity.”

Oddson says there is a relationship between her expressive work to that of the process artists of the 1960s, because “in them I am embracing the tactile and transient experience with clay. Through this work the audience can see the ephemeral pushing through, as the clay begins to take on the gestures of fabric, skin or the body.”

The Everett Gallery is open during regular library hours: Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to midnight; Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, noon to midnight.

Released by the Office of College Communications
Barry McNamara, Associate Director of College Communications
Phone: 309-457-2117
Fax: 309-457-2330