BOCA RATON, FL.- The University Galleries in the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters at Florida Atlantic University present “Figured Spaces: Selections from the John Morrissey Collection,” through Saturday, February 11, 2012, in the Schmidt Center Gallery on FAU’s Boca Raton Campus, 777 Glades Road. The exhibition features works by 12 artists selected from the collection of West Palm Beach attorney John Morrissey. All of the artists present the human figure in spaces or environments that convey a wide range of psychological states and evoke strong emotional responses. Co-curators Karen J. Leader, assistant professor of art history, and W. Rod Faulds, director of the University Galleries, selected the works. An illustrated catalogue with an essay by Leader is available. The exhibition and associated events are free and open to the public.

The 40 works in the exhibition include paintings, drawings and photographs, and range from intimately scaled drawings to paintings measuring over 10 feet. The selected artists employ human figuration in a wide variety of styles and sensibilities to present intriguing factual and imagined narratives and psychologies. Most of the artists have exhibited throughout the United States, Europe and other international venues. They include Natalie Frank, Katy Grannan, Hilary Harkness, Elisa Johns, Marina Kappos, Loretta Lux, Robyn O’Neil, Chloe Piene, Dasha Shishkin, Anj Smith, Mickalene Thomas and Su-en Wong.

On Friday, February 3, in association with the exhibition, the University Galleries, the department of visual arts and art history, and the Center for Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies will present a symposium titled “Taking the Space: Gender and the Figure in Contemporary Art.” The symposium is organized by Leader and will feature internationally recognized art historian Linda Nochlin, Lila Acheson Wallace Professor of Modern Art at New York University. The symposium will explore the figures and spaces included in the exhibition’s art, as well as the exhibition space, the artist’s figure and gendered spaces in the contemporary art world. Two artists from the “Figured Spaces” exhibition, along with Leader and other FAU faculty will speak during the symposium.
The University Galleries are open Tuesday through Friday, 1 – 4 p.m. and Saturday, 1 – 5 p.m. Group and class tours are welcome and can be arranged by appointment during public and alternative hours. The exhibition will be closed for the winter semester break from December 17, 2011 through January 3, 2012.