The University of Alabama Department of Art and Art History is pleased to present two Bachelor of Fine Arts exhibitions, November 19-29, 2018. Youth Expressions by Caroline Japal, and Sensory Notions by Candace von Hoffman, will be held in the Sella-Granata Art Gallery. The public is invited to a reception for the artists in the gallery Tuesday, Nov. 20, from 4:00 to 6:00 pm.
In her exhibition, Youth Expressions, CAROLINE JAPAL focuses on portraits of young people and their experience of coming of age in Birmingham, a small Southern city, something that Japal realized had never been done before. “In researching this,” she said, “I found only photo projects that focused on youth culture in larger cities and none in small cities like Birmingham, or in the South.” Japal’s photos of young people feel personal because the artist actively engages with her subjects while she takes pictures. “I meet with them in a public place, like Railroad Park or UAB campus, and we walk around talking while I photograph them.” She says she catches “the in-between moments” when her subjects are open and unself-conscious. “I think viewers will be able to relate to them whether they know my photographic subjects or not.”
Birmingham native Caroline Japal is a creative director at Belladonna magazine, the first fashion magazine founded in Birmingham, Alabama. She is the founder and editor-in-chief of Art Concept Magazine and owner of Caroline Japal Photography. Japal was recently featured in Freelancer Magazine: http://frlmag.com/meet-woman-on-the-rise-birmingham-based-photographer-caroline-japal/. She has exhibited her work in UA’s 2018 Annual BFA Juried Exhibition and in the Loft Show in Birmingham, and TheMix Birmingham Showcase. Japal is the recipient of the Carol B. Merkle Endowed Scholarship in 2017 and the Windgate Charitable Foundation Endowed Studio Arts Scholarship in 2016. Her website is https://www.carolinejapal.com/.
Throughout her college career, CANDACE VON HOFFMAN has experimented with the overlapping the media of painting and photography. The body of work in her exhibit, Sensory Notions, von Hoffman said, “is guided by the idea that our bodies are in constant conversation with our surroundings. I am curious about exploring the relationship between the body, the human sense, and the fragility of perception. What does it mean to inhabit the body and how do our bodies direct our perception of reality?”
Alabama native Candace von Hoffman has exhibited her work in UA’s 2018 Annual BFA Juried Exhibition at Harrison Galleries; in a four-woman show, Canorous, in 2018 and in the 2016 and 2017 Open Media exhibitions in the Sella-Granata Art Gallery. She is the recipient of the Farley Moody Galbraith Endowed Scholarship in 2018 and the Julie Peake Holaday Memorial Endowed Scholarship in 2017.
Image credits: (top) Caroline Japal, Ana, 2018, photographic print, 30” H x 20” W. (bottom) Candace von Hoffman, Untitled Study 4/16, September 2018, multimedia collage, 4 x 4 inches. Both images courtesy of the artists.
The Bachelor of Fine Arts degree is the professional degree for the artist; it is also the foundation for the masters program in studio art at UA. For more information about the BFA degree and our other degree programs in the Department of Art and Art History, go to https://art.ua.edu/academics/undergraduate-programs/babfa-in-studio-art/ or contact the department at (205) 348-5967.
Woods Hall is a five-minute walk from the Campus Drive Parking Deck and Bus Hub on Hackberry Lane. Gold 1, Crimson, Blue and Bronze CrimsonRide buses stop between Garland Hall and Gorgas Library. Information about visitor parking is available here: http://bamaparking.ua.edu/visitor-information/.
For more information contact Rachel Dobson, communications specialist, at (205) 348-1893 or rachel.dobson@ua.edu.