Students at Winchester School of Art (WSA) are set to display their artwork side-by-side with pieces from renowned painters, printmakers and sculptors in a new exhibition at the University of Southampton.
'Sea, Sky and Earth' will showcase undergraduate work from students studying fine art, pieces by recent and current WSA staff, and a selection of works by established artists drawn from the University's own art collection.
Held to coincide with the annual British Science Festival (16-20 September) - which is this year hosted by the University of Southampton - the exhibition opens at the Hartley Library on Highfield Campus on 17 August and runs until 1 November.
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Julia Vogl , exhibition curator and Lecturer in Fine Art at WSA, said, "I'm really thrilled about this opportunity, bringing together eminent works from the University Art Collection , the distinguished Artists' Book Collection at Winchester School of Art Library, and the specially-invited work of current students and staff.
"This has been a group effort from multiple disciplines across the University and beyond. It's a brilliant way to give vision and image to scientific phenomena, and to bring the arts and the sciences together."
As well as the artists, students from MA Contemporary Curating at WSA assisted with organising, and writing interpretive texts. Staff from Geography and Environmental Science, Engineering, and from the National Oceanography Centre provided specialist information, fun facts and links to current research topics.
Exhibits range from paintings to artists' books; video to fine art prints - all exploring elements relating to the over-arching theme of Sea, Sky and Earth.
Some were created just this summer by the students, while other established pieces date back 50 years.
One such piece, from 1973, is by Ana Mendieta, a Cuban-American performance artist, sculptor, painter, and video artist, best known for her 'earth-body' works. Ana is currently the subject of a Tate Modern retrospective exhibition (15 July - 17 January). Other renowned artists displayed include Barry Flanagan, Charles and Ray Eames and Turner prize nominee Tacita Dean.
These are sourced from the University of Southampton's own collection of some 450 paintings, prints, drawings, photographs, sculptures, ceramics and textiles.
Founded in the 1960s, the collection conserves and displays a diverse range of work, including by famous names such as Barbara Hepworth and Tracey Emin.
"We are always looking for new and exciting ways to share our art collection with people and by connecting with contemporary student work, this exhibition gives a fresh perspective to established works. Anyone is welcome to visit our gallery space in the Hartley Library to experience the exhibition first-hand," says librarian and co-curator Emma Guest.
In addition to the exhibition, free art workshops will be offered during the British Science Festival. Follow this link to register interest.
