Bannister Gallery 2019-20 Exhibitions

Rhode Island College 2-D Faculty Exhibition 

• August 29–September 20, 2019
• Opening reception: Thursday August 29, 4–7 pm

The Annual Faculty Exhibition offers an opportunity for the community to experience firsthand the inspirational and virtuoso talent that is in residence at Rhode Island College. 

These faculty artists are integral to the current aesthetic and formal dialogue in their various approaches to art practice, including research-based and interdisciplinary methods that are the core of best practice models. RIC’s faculty exhibits widely they receive many prestigious awards, grants, and residencies. As a result, they encourage students by their example to think across boundaries. Collectively, these distinguished, award-winning artists bring a unique vision to the region’s cultural tapestry.

Represented are works by the following 2-D full-time and adjunct faculty:

• Yizhak Elyashiv
• Stephen Fisher
• Liliya Krys-Burhoe
• John Paul McCaughey
• Amy Montali
• Melissa Randall
• John Rapczak
• Lisa Russell
• Jason Travers
• Richard Whitten

Copernicus

• October 3–25, 2019
• Opening Reception: Thursday, October 3, 4–7 pm 

Curated by Jenny CHEN Jiaying and Frank WANG Yefeng, Copernicus is based on Nicolaus Copernicus’s “On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres,” published under pressure before his death in 1543. It contained a revolutionary and reflective perspective, asking people to imagine that they were not the center of the universe and uprooting the concept of geocentricism. This was the first time in the history of Western philosophy that humanity and the earth were not considered the epicenter of all existence. With Charles Darwin's theory of evolution and Sigmund Freud's theory of unconsciousness, the position of human beings in the universe is constantly re-evaluated. The post-human generation has also contributed to concerns about the “future of humanity”, reimagining concerns Copernicus faced in the sixteenth century.

With these historical moments in mind, “Copernicus” will bring together selected artists and artworks to present a new perspective on the world and human beings. This perspective involves all kinds of considerations related to technology, geopolitics, nature and social systems. By interweaving these topics that are neither clear or rigidly defined, we can question anthropocentrism, the centralization of people, borders, and presuppositions, all while recognizing and giving recognition to historical contingencies.

Artists exhibited include Elliot Dodd, LaTurbo Avedon, and Stine Deja, as well as the art project Slime Engine.

John de Melim: Work in Progress A Memorial Exhibition

• November 7–December 6, 2019
• Opening Reception: Thursday, November 7,  4–7 pm

John de Melim (1924-2019), a graduate of Tufts and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, joined the faculty of the Art Department at Rhode Island College in 1960, just as the college moved to its new campus near the North Providence border. At the time, he taught a general education course required for all students titled Art in Society, a theme that would resonate throughout his art and his travels around the world. He later went on to teach printmaking and founded the Graphic Design program at Rhode Island College. This exhibition, organized by his son David, celebrates his life, his art, and his collection, honoring one of the pioneers of the RIC Art Department and a beloved figure in the Rhode Island arts community.

Graphic Design: Konkuk University

• January 23–February 7, 2020
• Opening Reception: Thursday, January 23, 4–7 pm

Facilitated by Rhode Island College Graphic Design Professor Heemong Kim, Graphic Design: Konkuk University features selected works from graduating students studying at Konkuk University in South Korea. The university’s objective is to develop creative designers aware of their social responsibilities through an understanding of humanity, society, technology, philosophy and culture.

LIKE-NESS: Andy Warhol Prints and Photos from the Permanent Collection

• February 20–March 13, 2020
• Opening Reception: Thursday, February 20, 4–7 pm

View the Exhibition Catalogue

Virtual Exhibition Tour Video 1

Virtual Exhibition Tour Video 2

Drawn from the permanent collection at Rhode Island College, LIKE-NESS celebrates the unique personalities found in Warhol’s portrait Polaroids, the candid snapshots of his street photographs, and the layered colors and meanings in his silkscreen prints. These works, made in the 1970s and 1980s, contribute to an ever-broadening understanding of Warhol’s late career. Furthering our mission as an educational art gallery, this exhibition is also curated in conjunction with the Fall 2019 Art History seminar Warhol By Design, which provided RIC students with the opportunity to conduct scholarly research about Warhol’s life, career, and legacy and to present those findings to the public.