Upcoming Exhibits
Look Out or Lookout
by Ben Frederick – February 6
FREDERICK’S work comes from looking at what is around HIM. HE likes to use familial subjects because HE feels that there is significance to them that HE can discover without parsing it out beforehand. There is an aspect of a personal chronicle to HIS work in that it contains HIS family and the places in which we find ourselves, but in regard to the making of the work, HE thinks of these as a backdrop to something that HE finds visually compelling. This can be something HE initially observeD or something HE discoverED when arranging a composition. There are the initial colors, shapes, and light that HE seeS, and then there is what happens to them when HE takes a photograph or makeS a drawing or a painting. A synthesis takes place between these two. HE IS persuaded by the characteristics of HIS materials, and HE stopS short of fully articulating HIS subject. Instead, HE trIES to make colors hum and shapes speak for themselves. HE lookS to avoid conventional images without abandoning conventional subjects. FREDERICK’S goal is that the work is multi-dimensional, that it exists simultaneously as personal history, textural surfaces, and constructed images.
Ben Frederick is an artist and teacher from Dayton, Ohio. He received his MFA in painting from Edinboro University in 2018. He teaches at Miami University Regionals and Indiana University East. His recent achievements include being selected for the upcoming New American Paintings, No. 143, Midwest Issue. Ben’s work includes observational and imagined images of daily life, which are manifested through drawing, collage, and oil paintings. His work explores the intersection of light, color, observation, and invention. Ben lives in Dayton with his wife and three children.
Gallery History
On June 21, 2007, Thomas More University unveiled the naming of the new Art Gallery as the “Eva G. Farris Art Gallery.”
“For some individuals, giving of their time and resources comes naturally. Eva Farris is one of these special individuals,” said Sister Margaret Stallmeyer, former president of Thomas More University. “She not only gives financial support to numerous organizations, but she serves as a committed and passionate volunteer throughout the community.”
A portrait of Eva Farris, painted by Thomas More graduate, Taylor Stephenson ’07, hangs on the entry wall of the Gallery. Ms. Stephenson is one of two Thomas More art graduates whose work was selected in a national competition to be displayed at Manifest Gallery in Cincinnati.
Gallery Hours
Monday – Thursday: 8:00am – 10pm
Friday – 8:00am – 4:00pm
Saturday – 10:00am – 4:00pm
Sunday – 2:00pm – 8:00pm
Special Holiday Hours may change this schedule. The Eva G. Farris Art Gallery is located on the entrance level of the Benedictine Library. For more information, call 859-344-3300.