Art presented in the Rozsa is normally student or community work. However, the Rosa Gallery is now hosting an art gallery consisting of works by the faculty and staff of Michigan Tech’s Visual and Performing Arts Department. On Mar. 24, a reception was held for the public to meet the artists. The show, entitled “Snowsports” featured several exhibits with a wintery theme. The exhibit will be open from 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Friday and 1 p.m.-8 p.m. Saturdays until April 29.
The show is on the basement floor of the Rosza lobby. The show featured seventeen exhibits by thirteen different artists, which covered a wide variety of art forms, from paintings to photography to wood and textile work. Rozsa Art Gallery director and artist in the Snowsport show, Terri Frew, explains that this event is “a great way to showcase the creative output of members of the department in addition to being a great way to enter into a creative conversation with others on campus and the community at large.”
Several of the exhibits prominently featured art made from recycled materials, while others held interactive pieces for the audience. There were also exhibits that incorporated functional design elements. A pottery exhibit, for example, was patterned after a wintery night sky but was entirely functional as a tea set as well. Some of the interactive art included a functional seesaw that guests were encouraged to use, and an exhibit where the art itself incorporated the conversation guests could have with the creator.
According to Terri Frew, the gallery director, the department hosts faculty and staff shows regularly, but “Snowsports” was the first one in several years due to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Frew also mentioned that the name “Snowsports” was selected to connect the exhibits and the wintery Upper Peninsula weather, saying that the purpose of the name was “trying into what Yoopers are familiar with and the notion of playing, which is something that’s really important to a lot of art professional studio practices.”
