Monique Sevenans Art History: KSU BFA Show 1995

How many times have you been to an art exhibit, look at a painting and asked what it was? Most of the time the artist has some 10,000 word explanation for their work that makes sense to about two people.

And sometimes that lengthy statement is a bunch of hog wash that has either been better illustrated or more intelligently discussed before.

All of that is about to change.

You'll find no out-of-this-world explanation with any of the work of artist Brian Bays or Monique Sevenans now showing in the Willard Art Gallery.

The duo's Bachelor of fine arts show is in Willard through April 7

[the comments about Brian have been snipped.]

Monique Sevenans' work, which is quite a bit lighter than Bays', is unconcerned with representing anything but what you want to see.

In a short introduction, Sevenans states "there are no preconceived notions or complicated concepts behind what I have done."

Sevenans' oil painting "Doorway," is a textured piece of earthy, organic colors divided by strong lines.

If you stare at the piece, you're likely to see a fumbling group of people making their way through the doorway. Of course, you may see something entirely different.

All of Sevenans' work, including many teapots, ceramics and paintings, was done within the last eight months, having been inspired by cracks in the sidewalk.

Sevenans only asks that you "open your mind and react to the simpleness" of her work.

With Sevenans' and Bays' savvy work, what you see is what you get, and in these times, that is refreshing.

Working on this show was one of the most productive and fulfilling times of my life. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing but it sure was fun. After the pretty Art Nouveau pots, I went the opposite direction in testing low fire glazes. I played with bright brilliant color on earthy, organic forms. Most of those clunky buggers ended up in the BFA show. The little teapot on the enclosed pedestal was one of my favorites, it came right out of one of the big paintings.

In addition to what ended up in this show, I did a series of organically inspired drawings. Most of them didn't end up in this show, but they were exhibited in a coffee shop. Unfortunately, in 2002 they were liberated cause they wouldn't fit into my truck. I had a lot of fun doing these and this types of drawing is how I'd like to get back into the swing of it. Below are a couple of them and I think I have slides of the rest..