UDALLAS Release: University of Dallas Beatrice M. Haggerty Gallery Presents 'What Remains'

Textile and Ceramic Exhibition Arrives from North Carolina Mountain Range

IRVING, TX (01/30/2018) The Beatrice M. Haggerty Gallery proudly announces the opening of a two-person exhibition, "What Remains," featuring artists Rachel Meginnes and Assistant Professor of Ceramics Kelly O'Briant. The exhibition is curated by Penland Gallery Director Kathryn Gremley of the Penland School of Craft in North Carolina. In 2001, O'Briant received a two-year Core Fellowship from the Penland School of Craft, where Meginnes recently completed a three-year residency.

Both artists will give presentations at the opening reception on Thursday, Feb.1, at 5:30 p.m. in the Haggar Auditorium located in the Haggerty Art Village on the University of Dallas Irving campus, followed by a reception in the gallery. The exhibition will remain available for viewing through Saturday, March 3, 2018.

"What Remains" speaks to both the visual and the conceptual depth of the inherent memory embedded in the works of Meginnes and O'Briant.

Meginnes' material of choice - reclaimed textiles - forms the foundation of her process: a physical and metaphorical layering of wear and re-adaptation. Using old, discarded textiles, Meginnes transforms vintage quilts by beginning with the quilt tops or with the compressed and batted stitching found inside of quilts. She then works on these surfaces to apply paint, metal leaf, image transfers, stitching, sanding and other various materials and techniques, creating artwork similar to an abstract painting while still retaining traces of the original pattern, color and wear of the quilt. Her work results in compelling objects that evoke senses of memory and loss.

In the work of O'Briant, the remainders are often phantom forms - such as a chimaera or an abstraction of scientific theory. Her work in ceramics often explores the notions of dark matter, light and shadow, and the passage of time. In this exhibition, O'Briant mines the emotional effect of unsettlement and reconstruction - the physical act of carrying the past forward. Her exhibition centerpiece, "All the Good Things," displays dozens of gold-lustered porcelain bowls containing porcelain seeds, which sit on porcelain objects that resemble concrete blocks. According to O'Briant, these seeds represent her migratory life and the generosity of the people she has encountered along the way.

It is only fitting that this exhibition arrives at the University of Dallas, reflecting O'Briant's extensive travels and her recent arrival on the university's Irving campus.

High-resolution images are available upon request by email at gallery@udallas.edu.

About the Beatrice M. Haggerty Gallery

The Beatrice M. Haggerty Gallery is located in the Art History Building at the corner of Gorman Drive and Haggar Circle on the University of Dallas campus at 1845 E. Northgate Drive in Irving. The gallery, which is part of the university's Haggerty Art Village, is free and open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday noon to 5 p.m. For more gallery information, visit www.udallas.edu/gallery or call 972-721-5087.

About the University

The University of Dallas, located in a metropolitan area of nearly 7 million people, is a leading Catholic university widely recognized for academic excellence by well-known publications, organizations and accrediting bodies. It offers distinctive undergraduate and graduate programs in the liberal arts, business and ministry that are characterized by academic rigor, an exceptional faculty and a commitment to shaping principled leaders in the Catholic intellectual tradition. For more information, visit www.udallas.edu.