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Photography, ceramics and prints converge in two art shows at St. Olaf

By David Gonnerman '90
November 3, 2003

Two shows are currently running at the Flaten Art Museum at St. Olaf College. ?One Year?s Time? by St. Olaf faculty members Meg Ojala and Ron Gallas, and ?Jessica Dunne Aquatints and Monotypes? by California artist Jessica Dunne. Both shows run now through Dec. 14, with the opening party on Thursday, Nov. 6, 5 to 8 p.m.

Ojala and Gallas will talk about their work in the museum on Wednesday, Nov. 12 at 3:30 p.m.

OjalaArt
Island 2.1.03 by Meg Ojala.
?My current work involves paying close attention to a little island on the Cannon River near my studio in Dundas,? says Ojala. The photographs in her show reveal what she has noticed on the island throughout the course of a year.

Gallas? work also represents a year of continued exploration, but of the figurative form. ?I don?t want my work to seem familiar. I enjoy being an outlaw to contemporary trends,? he says. ?I hope that viewers embrace the experience of being disoriented.?

Mooty Man by Gallas
Ceramic Mooty Man by Ron Gallas.
Dunne, a Los Angeles native, currently lives and works in San Francisco. ?Her work dismantles the illusion of the Mamas and the Papas? melodic ?California Dreaming? in a single glance,? says Robert F. Johnson, curator, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. ?Her works are neither cynical nor critical of our age. She merely observes, feels and creates works about what she sees.?

Ojala has taught photography at St. Olaf for 20 years. Her works have been exhibited extensively throughout the Midwest, in Chicago, New York City, Tennessee and Washington. Among her awards and honors are three Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Assistance Grants, two Film in the Cities/Mcknight Photography Fellowships, and three St. Olaf College Faculty Development Grants. She lives in Dundas.

DunneArt
Wet Pavement by Jessica Dunne.
Gallas has taught at St. Olaf for 16 years. He regularly conducts ceramics workshops at colleges around the country and has served as chair of Corning Glass Corporation/Penn. State University Glass symposium, Assistant Chair of the 9th Annual SUPER MUD Ceramics Conference, The Crafts Museum, Niagara Falls, N.Y., and as a board member for the National Council for Education of Ceramic Arts. He lives in Minneapolis.

Dunne?s cityscapes have been displayed throughout the United States and have received numerous awards.

Contact David Gonnerman at 507-646-3315 or gonnermd@stolaf.edu.