Penn State Altoona offers works of Emily White

Thursday, December 20, 2012 - 384 hits

ALTOONA – An exhibition of work by Emily White will be on display in the McLanahan Gallery of the Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts January 10 - March 3, 2013. A reception will be held from 3 -5 p.m., Thursday, January 10 in the Titelman Study of the Misciagna Center.

White received her BFA from Massachusetts College of Art and Design (Boston, MA) with a focus in sculpture. She has received awards including the Helen Blair Crosbie Sculpture Award and was nominated for the International Sculpture Center’s outstanding Student Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award for two consecutive years. Her work has been included in group shows at City Hall of Philadelphia, Annmarie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center (Solomons, MD), Susan Hensel Gallery (Minneapolis MN), Gallery 263 (Cambridge, MA), and Massachusetts Transportation Building (Boston, MA). She recently completed Philadelphia Mural Arts’ Muralist Training Program and hopes to pursue that further. White was born in Brockton, MA and now resides in Philadelphia, PA.

White states, “I have always been in awe of wild life. The animal, undisturbed, in its natural habitat, has profoundly impressed me. I am attracted to creatures with bizarre and improbable anatomy. I create monuments to them. Physically creating the animal increases my critical understanding of scale, weight, and balance. This reinterpretation of the subject and form in my own language allows me to engage with the animal on my own terms. An animal’s stance can give the impression of life and motion even when it’s made from an unnatural and untypical material. A hard interior with a soft, sensuous exterior, not only mimics living things but allows me to develop an interplay of materials. The animal’s form is constructed in a life-like way, while making metaphoric shifts in the material of its construction. A personal form of logic is displayed in the relationship between the material and subject. The molded armor of a fired ceramic armadillo is simultaneously protective and brittle, just like an actual armadillo’s hide. Material connections begin to affect the conversation between the sculpted animal and the viewer. The viewer recognizes another history in the material that is independent of the animal. I think seriously about the material and often go with spontaneous intuitive materials that connect with the animal’s actually physical appearance, such as color and texture. This simple dialog between the animal subject and its method of construction is at the heart of my sculptural investigation.”

The galleries are open Monday – Thursday, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. and before and during all performances. For further information, call the Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts at 814-949-5452.