There's Something To Talk About at RIT's Bevier Gallery

Artists have yin yang relationships to one another-they often work alone but are influenced by each other and every style created before them.

So what happens if a mother-daughter team—like novelist Anne Tyler and painter Tezh Modarressi—interact to create a visual medium of words and images?

They strike up some real “Conversations,” the premise of an unusual exhibition at Rochester Institute of Technology's Bevier Gallery. An opening reception will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 22. The show runs through Nov. 17.

The art of “Conversations” features work in various media by more than 90 artists, including William Kentridge, Joyce Scott, Raoul Middleman, Joyce Carol Oates, Grace Hartigan and Gregory Gillespie. The show's curator Barry Nemett, chair of the Painting Department at the Maryland Institute College of Art, sought to inspire artists and their families or friends to “share the creative processes with one another.”

In other words, the artists had to collaborate, says Clifford Wun, an MFA alum from the Maryland Institute and assistant professor in the Foundations Department at RIT's College of Imaging Arts and Sciences. So Wun asked colleague, visiting assistant professor Graham Carson, to jointly experiment on a piece of artwork for the show.

“Graham and I are friends and we wanted to make something together for some time,” says Wun. “We often find ourselves talking about beauty and desire—so, I painted a woman and he pounded her heart out of metal.”

During the past few months, Wun worked diligently to bring “Conversations” to RIT because he felt it was really strong work that should be seen by the Rochester community.

“These artists are the names you see in major museums both nationally and internationally who were willing to take a risk by working together in a situation about the unknown—but not doing it alone,” Wun says. “It's something you might never see again.”

“Conversations” is open during gallery hours from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday; 7 to 9 p.m., Monday to Thursday; 1 to 4:30 p.m., Saturday; and 2 to 4:30 p.m., Sunday. The Bevier Gallery, handicapped accessible, is located in the James E. Booth Building on RIT's Henrietta campus. All exhibits are free. For more information, call 475-7680 or 475-2646.