REVIEW: Last Chance to See “The Speaking Eye” at UNR

By Kylie Mascnicz

“The Speaking Eye” is a gallery exhibit composed of art from students can be found in the McNamara Gallery in the Church Fine Arts building on the University of Nevada, Reno campus. I was lost at first trying to find this gallery, but eventually was told that the gallery was, in fact, a large hallway with the art adorning the walls.

The art was done on paper and seemed to mainly use charcoal or pencil as a medium. There were no labels defining the specific medium, name of the piece, or artist. I wish this was included, as I find these labels helpful and insightful when visiting exhibits.

Nonetheless, the art from the students was wondrous and different. The majority of the work was in black and white, but some pops of color would break this theme throughout.

The motif of the gallery, “The Speaking Eye,” was accomplished through the different works. I was anticipating the eyeball to be featured in most of the pieces, but the students creatively incorporated the theme without being obvious. Each piece is full of emotion without needing the explicit use of words to express it. I felt most of the emotions in the pieces were negative, such as agony or pain, but some positive ones were also included, such as dreamy or discovery.

The gallery is self-walk-through and is short. I’d recommend swinging by if you need a little time to kill or if you were in the area. If you happen to miss this exhibit, still feel free to explore the Church Fine Arts building. Student art is always being featured in some way throughout the halls and postings are often updated with different events happening around Reno. Choose to go out and support student art.

Details

• Located in Church Fine Arts building, McNamara Gallery
• Curated by Austin Pratt
  
• Dates:
• December 1 – 31, 2018