October 17, 2005
Contact: Christine Kuper
Cal Poly University Art Gallery
(805) 756-1571; ckuper@calpoly.edu
Drawing Installation to be Next Exhibit at University Art Gallery
SAN LUIS OBISPO - Cal Poly's University Art Gallery will showcase the work of award-winning artist María Velasco in "BLUEprints of the Heart," a drawing installation from Nov. 3 through Dec. 2.
Velasco will give a talk at 5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 3, followed by an opening reception from 6 to 8 p.m. Both events are free and open to the public. The University Art Gallery is located in Room 171 in the Dexter Building on campus. The artist's work can be seen during regular gallery hours: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday.
"Using the entire gallery as her page, Velasco creates an intimate architectural space with paper, charcoal and other drawing materials, as well as photographs and yards and yards of blue masking tape," said Christine Kuper, coordinator of the gallery.
Velasco describes the exhibition as "a performance as well as a drawing, an experience for the artist and the viewer that transforms constantly. It has no beginning and no end. It functions as an expression of different emotions associated with the heart."
Her work often addresses issues of identity in relationship to historical and cultural conditions. Incorporating such diverse media as sound, light, photography, video, drawing, painting and performance, Velasco attempts to push her experience as an artist beyond the boundaries of traditional practices and challenge her own convictions, Kuper said.
"I believe in the potential of installation and interdisciplinary approaches to engage in dialogue, to pose questions, and to create refreshing opportunities for growth, discovery and beauty," Velasco said.
Born and raised in Madrid, Spain, Velasco earned a bachelor's degree in painting from the Universidad Complutense of Madrid in 1989, and a Master of Fine Arts degree in new genre from UC Santa Barbara in 1993.
She has been teaching fine arts at the University of Kansas, Lawrence,
since 1995.
Her work has been exhibited nationally in university and private
museums, and in contemporary art venues such as The Soap Factory
in Minneapolis, the Contemporary Arts Forum in Santa Barbara, ARC
gallery in Chicago and Paula Cooper gallery in New York.
Internationally her work has been exhibited in Spain, Mexico, Argentina and Paraguay. Her work has been featured in Art In America and Sculpture Magazine. A recipient of numerous awards and grants, Velasco was the first art student to obtain a grant through the Madrid-California Education Abroad program.
Partial funding for "BLUEprints of the Heart" is provided by Cal Poly's College of Liberal Arts, Department of Art & Design, the Instructionally Related Activities program, and Cal Poly Arts. For more information call 756-6038 or 756-1571.
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