Truckee Meadows Community College (TMCC) Art Galleries are exhibiting four new exhibitions, including the 53rd Annual Art Faculty Exhibition. The exhibitions run Monday, Sept. 2–Thursday, Sept. 26, at four locations on the Dandini Campus. There will be an opening artists’ reception on Wednesday, Sept. 4, from 5–7 p.m. at the V. James Eardley Student Center and Red Mountain Gallery on the 3rd floor in the Red Mountain Building on the Dandini Campus. Refreshments will be available, and exhibitions open to the public for free.
The TMCC Main Gallery will feature the 53rd Annual TMCC Art Faculty Exhibition. This year’s show promises to be an immersive experience featuring large-scale artworks that captivate the imagination and diverse art mediums, highlighting the breadth and depth of artistic expression within our community. From towering sculptures to intricate installations and multimedia creations, the exhibition will offer a unique opportunity to explore our faculty artists’ innovative and thought-provoking works. Each piece is a testament to the skill, dedication, and passion that define the TMCC art faculty, providing visitors with an inspiring and enriching experience.
“The Annual Faculty Art Show has been a beacon of creative exploration and innovation at Truckee Meadows Community College for over half a century. This 53rd exhibition presents a stunning array of large-scale installations and diverse two-dimensional artworks, each a testament to the depth of content and the richness of meaning faculty artists bring to their work. These creations invite viewers to engage with complex narratives, challenge perceptions, and experience art transcending traditional boundaries of medium and form. It celebrates artistic vision, where every piece is a dialogue between the artist and the world, offering profound insights into the human experience,” said Kyle Karrasch, Art Galleries Curator.
For the emotions 'Anxious but Adventurous' by Kay Vergilio (Drawing I Class).
The Red Mountain Gallery on the third floor adjacent to Admissions hosts Nature Eats Image by Susanna Herrmann. Susanna Herrmann is a painter, photographer, and professor of graphic design at Southern Utah University in Cedar City, Utah. Susanna’s work is based on theories of visual perception and influenced by space and landscape. In Nature Eats Image, Herrmann has created distorted imagery rooted in moments and materials sourced from the photos’ locations. The work draws on places where she has practiced active imagination. Her artistic process is a continuation of these experiences. For Herrmann, working through imagery, materials, and language is one of orientation. For the viewer, she hopes to spark curiosity and offer a designed space for orienting oneself and practicing imagination.
“This artist’s work is a profound exploration of orientation, where making sense of our place in the world is a personal and collective journey. Through the deliberate distortion of imagery and the use of materials deeply connected to the landscape, the artist challenges us to rethink our perceptions and engage in a practice of reorientation. Nature Eats Image is not just a visual experience; it is an invitation to explore the boundaries of our imagination, urging us to find meaning in the unfamiliar and the abstract. The result is a rich dialogue between the viewer, the artwork, and the natural world, where the orientation process becomes an art form,” said Karrasch.
For the emotions 'Delicate, Pining, and Sad' by Lizbeth Hernandez-Moreno (Drawing I Class).
The Erik Lauritzen Gallery on the third floor features Inside Out: Reno Chamber Orchestra and TMCC Art 101 Drawing I Students Collaboration. TMCC students embarked on a unique partnership with the Reno Chamber Orchestra (RCO). As part of this collaboration, students from TMCC’s Art 101 Drawing I course created artwork inspired by various emotions. The most compelling pieces were selected by RCO and featured in the RCO Inside-Out performances in April 2024. Each artwork was paired with musical compositions from esteemed classical composers, including G.F. Handel, Durante, and Vivaldi, with the emotions visually projected during the performances.
“The Inside Out collaboration between Truckee Meadows Community College and the Reno Chamber Orchestra exemplifies the powerful synergy between visual art and music. By pairing student-created artworks, each inspired by raw human emotion, with the timeless compositions of classical masters, this project transcends the boundaries of individual disciplines. The result is a multi-sensory experience that amplifies the power of both mediums, offering audiences a profound connection to the inner worlds of both the artists and composers. This partnership is a testament to the enduring dialogue between art forms and the fresh perspectives that emerge when creative minds unite,” said Karrasch.
The Red Mountain Student Gallery on the third floor features Monsters by Crowley Foster and Gwyneth Crowes. For Crowley and Gwyneth, imagination is limitless, as are the monsters in their art pieces. Each monster has a story, ups and downs, making each unique. They have achieved this through their experimentation of different mediums and using these to make each character distinct while allowing it to exist as a part of the collective whole. These paintings help to show the colorful lives of these monsters, an initial statement that art does not need to have deep meaning to make an impact on viewers.
“In Monsters, Crowley Foster and Gwyneth Crowes bring a vibrant and imaginative world to life where each creature tells its unique story. Through their bold experimentation in painting, they created characters that, while distinct, exist in harmony within a collective narrative. What began as a playful exploration of form and color evolved into a deeper commentary on societal pressures and the complexities of human experience. Initially conceived without the intent of profound meaning, these monsters reflect the intricate dance between wealth, reputation, and identity, offering viewers a mirror to the hidden challenges we all face in maintaining our place in the world,” said Karrasch.
All art galleries are located at 7000 Dandini Boulevard, Red Mountain Building, Reno, NV, and are open with building hours. For more information, please visit the Art Galleries website or call 775-673-7233.