The University of Alabama Department of Art and Art History presents the Master of Fine Arts thesis exhibitions of Parker Hunt and Kole Nichols, April 5-14, 2023, in the Sella-Granata Art Gallery, Woods Hall, on UA campus. A reception for the artists will be held Thursday, April 13, in the gallery from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Parker Hunt’s MFA exhibition is titled Rough Around the Edges. Hunt is a graduate student in ceramics with an assistantship and is professor of record for ART 212 and assists in ART 412. He had a solo exhibition, Break Away, at Walnut Gallery in Gadsden, Alabama, in 2022 and has exhibited in national and regional juried exhibitions. Hunt has taught ceramics and the history of ceramics at Gadsden State Community College and taught ceramics at the K-12 level. He was an assistant instructor in ceramics at UA Art Camp in 2022. Hunt served as an artist assistant at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts (Tenn.); visiting artist at Carlow University, Pittsburgh.; and artist-in-residence at the Walnut Gallery and the Mary G. Hardin Center of Cultural Arts, both in Gadsden. He received a BFA in ceramics and sculpture from the University of Montevallo and also studied at Ball State University, the Federal University of Goiás, Brazil, and Gadsden State Community College.
Kole Nichols writes that his exhibition, titled Star Patterns, “is a personal exploration of the physical, spiritual, and emotional. The work is often influenced by my interests in cyclical movements and patterns, navigation, mapping, repetition, light, presence, and absence. At times there are references to architectural elements, organizational systems, and even natural phenomena. As I work, I seek to analyze and deconstruct moments or spaces that I encounter hoping to create images and objects that embody their experience.”
Nichols is a graduate student in printmaking, teaching 2-D design and assisting in Drawing. They previously assisted in printmaking and color theory courses. Recent exhibitions include Remnant (solo) at Wiregrass Museum of Art, Dothan, Alabama; Jumbo Shrimp (group) at Take It Easy, Atlanta; Transmutations (the inbetweenness of things), curated by Sergio Suarez at Whitespec, Whitespace, Atlanta; and a three-person exhibition, Moon Gallery, at Berry College, Mt. Berry, Georgia, among others. They have interned with artist Sara Garden Armstrong, assisted photographer Kenwyn Alexander, and taught drawing classes at Space One Eleven in Birmingham.
The Sella-Granata Art Gallery is an essential part of the education and development of UA students and our community. Hours are Monday through Thursday 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 2 p.m. when school is in session.The gallery is located at 109 Woods Hall, 7th Avenue, on UA campus in Tuscaloosa and admission is free and open to the public. Visitors are welcome, although not required, to wear face coverings inside the gallery.
For more information about The University of Alabama’s programs in studio art and art history, visit our Degree Programs page.