Two floors of the School of Architecture and Allied Arts will be filled with art installations by senior-year undergraduates on May 31 from 5-8 p.m. 2013 Spring Storm: Department of Art Annual Senior Show will take place in Lawrence Hall, 1190 Franklin Boulevard, on the University of Oregon campus in Eugene.

The exhibition is free and open to the public. More than 100 graduating students who are completing their BA or BS degrees in art of digital arts are participating in this inaugural, end-of-year show.

“I am hoping that both the larger community and the campus community will be engaged,” says Laura Vandenburgh, head of the Department of Art. “This is an opportunity for the students to produce a work that synthesizes all they have learned. We expect it to be a lively and celebratory event.”

Work from all media areas within the department will be showcased, including ceramics, digital arts, fibers, jewelry and metalsmithing, painting, photography, printmaking, and sculpture.

The show will provide not only a glimpse of advanced student work but also insights into their creative processes, material choices, and theoretical approaches.

“I have been experimenting with mineral spirits mixed with paint and walnut oil, and exploring the use of layers and many surfaces,” says Kimberly Volkmann, who also works with dried paint scraps and gesso.

Student Roxanne McKee says the evolutionary process of a capstone project can help change the artist’s perspective.

“I've been working on my honors thesis this year, which explores the relationship between working abstractly and working representationally,” McKee says. “As I've researched, written, and painted my way through the project, my understanding of my thesis questions have changed, and I think this change is reflected in my work. The big conclusion I've reached so far is that distinguishing between representation and abstraction is kind of a false distinction in many ways.”

The show also provides a look at some of the latest in artistic approaches, including the blending of more traditional art with digital media. Artist Alisa Akay works with “experimental, three-dimensional structures” often integrated with new technology.

“After photographing models for reference, I plan out each composition with hand drawn and digital sketches,” she says. “Additionally, the bulk of my research and experimentation time is invested in creating the shapes with computer graphics software. I find it thrilling to be able to translate a digital rendering into real life through the use of emerging technologies.”

The Department of Art at UO offers more than 300 classes every year in eight media areas. Many courses in the department are open to students who are not art majors, although prerequisites may apply.

For more information, visit art.uoregon.edu, email artuo@uoregon.edu, or call (541) 346-3610.