An exhibition opening and gallery talk, featuring recent work by two teaching artists from Fairmont State, Lynn and Jennifer Boggess, together with the work of seven past and present students: Lauren Adams, Stacey Elder, Derek Overfield, Trevor Oxley, Andrew Smith, Michael Smith and Jason Spinks — will open in Charleston at the Culture Center, Capitol Complex on Monday, May 17, at 6 p.m. A reception will follow the gallery talk. The opening and exhibition are free and open to the public.
The School of Fine Arts at Fairmont State expects its professors to be as dedicated to their teaching as they are to their art. This exhibition is evidence of the success of that expectation.
Jennifer Hall Boggess is an Associate Professor of Art at Fairmont State University where she teaches painting and drawing courses at all levels. She holds an MFA in Painting from West Virginia University. In addition to solo exhibitions at Fairmont State, her work has been featured recently in 21st Century Landscape: New Ground, an invitational exhibition of international artists held in the art space of the corporate offices of Bank of America in Charlotte, North Carolina. Her work was featured in Land Matters, also an invitational exhibition at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia, as well as in several solo exhibitions throughout the state of West Virginia. She has been a director of the Innovation Gallery at the West Virginia High Technology Consortium in Fairmont and the Daywood Gallery at Alderson Broaddus College in Philippi, West Virginia, where she was an Assistant Professor of Art. She is the author of Walls and Windows, Paintings by Blanche Lazzell, a chapter from the text, Blanche Lazzell: The Life and Work of an American Modernist, published by West Virginia University Press, edited by Robert Bridges, Kristina Olson, and Janet Snyder.
Of her recent work she states, “The series contrasts the scale and rapidity of landscape change with the fragility and continuity of the intimate landscape”.
A native of Parkersburg, West Virginia, Lynn Boggess received his BA Degree from Fairmont State and a MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art. He taught in the public schools in Mineral and Berkeley County, West Virginia University for ten years and at his alma mater, FSU, for sixteen years. During his tenure at FSU, he became a full Professor of Art and received numerous awards including the D Gene Jordan Award, West Virginia University Outstanding Artist, the Governor’s Award of Excellence in Painting, and Higher Education Art Educator of the Year. Boggess was an integral part of the first West Virginia Governor’s School for the Arts and served as a Master Teacher for five summers.
In 2000, Boggess began experimenting with an alternative method of oil painting. Over the course of five years, he perfected a technique that emphasizes a textural approach to plein air landscape painting. The significance of this style is evident from the success it has received in numerous solo exhibitions in commercial galleries. Boggess has been a full time professional artist for the past three years and is represented in galleries in West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, and New Mexico.
Boggess received the WV Governor’s Lifetime Achievement Award in March of this year.
Lauren Adams is a painter who resides in Fairmont, West Virginia. She is a graduate of Fairmont State University and West Virginia University, where she holds a BA in Studio Art and a BFA in Painting, respectively. She has shown her work extensively at various venues including EA Gallery in Swainsboro Georgia, Cooper Gallery in Lewisburg, West Virginia, James Brooks Gallery in Fairmont, West Virginia, The Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences of West Virginia in Charleston and Arts Monongahela in Morgantown, West Virginia. Lauren is a juried artist of Tamarack’s David L. Dickirson Gallery. In 2009, she was juried into the Emerging Artists of West Virginia exhibition at the West Virginia State Museum, where she was awarded Best of Show and a spot in the museum’s permanent collection. Adams will be exhibiting in a two person show at Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art at Ligonier Valley. The exhibition is entitled Brian Ferrell and Lauren Adams: The Aesthetics of Nature and will be on display from August 6th through October 31st, 2010. Lauren also writes a blog titled Journal of an Emerging Artist, which chronicles her career as an artist and acts as a resource for others.
Of her own work, Lauren writes: Jagged or water-worn rocks, moss-covered earth, gleaming birch trees, and chameleon rivers of West Virginia are my subjects. Nature has always been an important component in my work. I thrive on working from life. The landscapes are created en plein aire – painted rapidly on location with a variety of utensils. The act of painting is central to the work. My process involves a combination of media and approach. Most of the works are begun with a thin acrylic layer or gesture done with a large brush and then completed with a palette knife in oil. I smear, scrape, and thickly layer the oil paint, until the essence of the landscape is found. Painting in this direct manner is a means to emphasize the importance of experience and reflects a desire to capture the fluidity and power of nature. The works are not images of sweeping vistas, but the views found exploring the interior of West Virginia. They reveal its true character and a feeling of place through semi abstraction. Retained is a relative simplicity of form along with an economy of strokes that are utilized to construct a strong image.
Stacey N. Elder, originally from Clarksburg, West Virginia, will be receiving a Bachelors of Arts in Studio Art. She plans to attend Lamar Dodd School of Art in Athens, George, to obtain an MFA degree. While at Fairmont State University she has received the Blanche Kinney Fine Arts Scholarship 2007-2010, Participation Enhancement Grant 2008-2010, Best in Show at the Annual Juried Spring Exhibition 2009-2010, First Place in Sculpture, Annual Juried Spring Exhibition 2008.
Of her own work, Stacey Elder writes: My work is constructed with marks and lines that represent systems that posses a sense of urgency and feed from themselves. Every mark, line, and shape grows from one another, building and overlapping to conceal some of what formulates these systems. Each mark, though unplanned, performs a function. A system or machine works from repeating its performance, and the repetition of shapes enables the viewer to understanding how the system is working. While referencing everything from schematics, maps, and blueprints, the process of my work can also be referenced within itself. Process within a system and the combination of several different parts working together are very important elements. The consistency within my work becomes a system in itself, due to repetition of quick mark-making.
Derek Overfield is an artist residing in Fairmont, West Virginia. He attended Fairmont State College, graduating with a bachelor of science in Graphics/Fine Arts in 2003. Professionally, Derek has exhibited his work in numerous competitions and exhibitions. In 2004, as well as in 2005, he contributed to the group exhibitions, The Figure Head to Toe at Cooper Gallery in Lewisburg, West Virginia. In 2008 his work was included in the exhibitions Creative Drive at the Hammond Harkin Gallery in Columbus, Ohio, and Step Closer at the Gallery RFD in Swainsboro, Georgia. In 2009 Derek’s work was featured in the Best of West Virginia show at the Tamarack Gallery in Beckley, West Virginia and the Emerging Artists of West Virginia exhibition at the West Virginia State Museum in Charleston, where he took second place. Later, in October of 2009 Derek’s work was included in the West Virginia Juried Exhibition at the Huntington Museum of Art in Huntington. In addition, solo exhibitions of Derek’s recent work were shown at Gallery 62 West in Grafton, West Virginia, the James Brooks Gallery at Fairmont State University, and the Robert C. Byrd Federal Courthouse in Charlesteon, West Virginia. Most recently Derek’s work was featured in the group shows The Salon Show (2009) and Contemporary Figurative Art (2010) at the Terra Gallery in Columbus, Ohio.
Of his own work, Derek writes: Occasionally found in reliefs on ancient Greek tombs, are figures that curiously hold a bird in one hand. These reliefs and their casually mysterious figure/bird relationships are the inspiration for my recent drawings. In the reliefs, as well as my drawings, the figures seem barely aware of the birds’ presence, prompting one to question their role and purpose of inclusion. The fact that the birds are not granted a position as “precious objects” creates a visual tension that is magnified by their differences in scale, application and association. I embrace the raw canvas and utilize a sparce combination of water soluble oil pastel and acrylic paint coupled with graphite rendered contours to highlight the figure/bird relationship and mirror the simplicity of the ancient reliefs.
Andrew Smith graduated from Fairmont State University in 2009 with a B.A. degree in Studio Art with an emphasis in Painting. Having won several awards offered by the Department of Art, he plans to continue his career as a professional studio artist.
Of his own work, Andrew writes: In my paintings I try to elevate familiar, mundane subjects to monumental status. Working with value contrasts, scale, and composition I aim to create an intriguing point of view. My paintings occur quickly, which allows my hand to stay ahead of my thoughts. Slowing down tends to cause me to focus on individual areas and to lose spontaneity and energy in the work.
Michael Smith is a 2010 graduate of Fairmont State University who earned a BA in Studio Art. He was recently accepted as a candidate for the MFA painting program of University of Cincinnati College of Design, Architecture, Art, & Planning. He plans to pursue a career as professional artist and has earned numerous awards including the Blanche Kinney Fine Arts Scholarship, William White Scholarship, James David Brooks Scholarship, Deans Award in the 2009 Juried Spring Exhibition at Fairmont State University, an honorable mention in the Social Justice: Art in a Time of Change exhibition at Marshall University and the 2010 Whetstone Award of Excellence.
Of his own work, Michael writes: Ownership of the body is a primary focus throughout my work. I have chosen carcasses as subjects that communicate how flesh reacts to atmospheric changes. I work with a methodology that is direct yet subtle, incorporating aggressive marks and allowing the line work to become indicative of shifts in light. I am interested in the manipulative aspects of oil paint, its complex passages and flesh-like properties.Grin depicts the severed head of a pig suspended by a gleaming hook. Though the animal has been slaughtered, the discreet smile-like facial expression reads as humanistic, jolting the viewer from merely observing the animal to experiencing empathy.
Jason Spinks is from Summersville, West Virginia. He is a Studio Arts major and will graduate in May of 2010. After graduation he plans to work in a graphics shop for awhile while I while continuing to paint. He received the Blanche Kinney Fine Arts Scholarship for 2008-2009, and the William White Scholarship for 2009-2010. Jason also received first place in painting at the 2008 Spring Exhibition and second place in painting at the 2009 Exhibition.
Of his own work, Jason writes: This specific series of works has been an investigation of taking a portrait out of context to focus mainly on the individual in the work. I wanted to create realistic portraits of people that were really nowhere in particular. There is a psychological aspect of the individual in an extended atmospheric setting. I feel this gives the viewer a chance to envision their own setting and theme.
Trevor R. Oxley, originally from Nicholas County, West Virginia, will receive a Bachelors of Science in Graphics and Fine Arts, along with an Associates of Science in Graphics Technology in Spring 2010. His future plans are to move to Athens, Georgia in the Summer of 2010, to seek better networking opportunities and to continue painting. Trevor received the Blanche Kinney Fine Arts Scholarship in 2009-2010, and at the Annual Juried Student Exhibition in 2010 he received First Place in Painting. He won the Timothy Clayton Award in 2007, 2008 and 2009 and the Participation Enhancement Grant every year from 2007-2010.
About his own work, Trevor writes: Through my drawings I focus on the use of lines and expansive spaces to create energy and depth. My paintings are composed of multiple drawings adding color and contrast to manipulate the energy within the work.
Fairmont State University - Tatler Archive 
