By Kristen Pugh
Since October 10, the Marian University Art Gallery in Fisher Hall has featured artwork of Crystal Vicars-Pugh. Her exhibit “Hanging on by a Thread” has caught the eyes of many by the unique structures of her work and message being portrayed on the world around us.
Vicars-Pugh received her MFA in painting at Indiana State University in 2009 and is currently a visual arts instructor at KIPP Indianapolis College Prep. She’s also showcased her art at various galleries in Indiana located in Terre Haute, Indianapolis, and Portland. With much success, Vicars-Pugh was honored for her exhibit on Thursday, November 10.
“I am honored to have a solo show at Marian University,” said Vicars-Pugh. “I have enjoyed working with faculty and students.”
Jenny Pauckner, art professor at Marian University, has been the Gallery Director in Fisher Hall since fall 2010. Pauckner has been arranging the reception and enjoys the process of showing work to students.
“It’s really a creative job,” she said. “I get to brainstorm new ideas, do research, document everything that occurs, and show work to people for the first time.
“I chose Vicars-Pugh to be showcased because her use of mixed media and scale of work is unique and has made her stand out.”
Vicars-Pugh’s art of Abstract Aerials and Mystical Landscapes are mostly constructed of acrylics and oils on canvas. Her most recent work Tiny Maps, which is featured in “Hanging on by a Thread,” is constructed with gouache, pieces of thread, and atlas pages on canvas. Her current work is an examination of cartography (the study and practice of making maps), as well as the temporary nature of our world.
Students and faculty gathered at the reception to hear Vicars-Pugh explain her work in detail.
“As we become more and more of a global society our lives are impacted by something that may have happened thousands of miles away,” said Vicars-Pugh.
“The maps are a visual interpretation of… different parts of the world connecting and intertwining together to break the invisible barriers that once separated us. Some may see the strings as roads or an artistic expression of a line connecting one place to another.”
Vicars-Pugh feels her art has many interpretations, and it’s up to the observer to decide how it’s supposed to affect. Her source of inspiration came from listening to NPR daily and constructing her feelings of the world today by sewing different parts of the world together to represent connection. She described the process of making these Tiny Maps “tedious, as they were whimsical and fun.”
If you missed the reception and would like to view Vicars-Pugh’s work, please visit crystalvicarspugh.com.
