LDSOA Post MFA Faculty Fellow Exhibition

That title is a mouthful, but the Lamar Dodd School of Art presents a special exhibition on January 31, Some Points, new photography by this year's Post MFA Faculty Fellow Rachel Cox.

The Post-MFA Photography Fellow is a one-year teaching and research position targeted to bring recent MFA graduates, their ideas and perspectives, into the dialogue of the programs of the school of art. The fellow teaches two classes each semester and conducts research, developing new work that is presented in an exhibition and public lecture during the spring semester. Cox is the fourth Post-MFA Photography Fellow in the school of art.

She received her Masters of Fine Arts from the University of New Mexico in 2013. Her work has been exhibited at museums and galleries throughout the United States including the Albuquerque Museum of Art, Rayko Photo Center in San Francisco, Philadelphia Photo Arts Center, Talley Dunn Gallery in Dallas, TX, and Virdian Artists Gallery in New York. Her work was featured in publications such as Lenscratch Magazine, Dallas Frontrow Magazine, and Art Fag City. Cox was awarded two continuing artist grants from the Dallas Museum of Art.

From the exhibition notes by LDSOA Galleries director, Katie Geha:

[In Some Points, Rachel Cox] presents a body of in-process work which points to "something about things." Cox traveled around the Southeast visiting state fairs and local competitions, photographing the uncanny phenomena she encountered. The photos frame and highlight prized possessions, well-groomed and cultivated for a specific connoisseur - a winning apple, a first-place Christmas tree, a "7th best kitten" ribbon, a pigeon with its wings delicately splayed. Cox hopes the images prompt the viewer to consider how we attach meaning to any one sign: "I'm interested in how we attribute value to objects," she explains. "And how that process might be linked to representation, the way in which we view photographs."

Great stuff and solid work. The show runs from January 31 to March 6 in Gallery 101 of the school of art, with an opening reception on Friday January 31 from 7 to 9 pm. An artist talk will also be held on Feb. 6 at 5:30 pm in the gallery. Both events are free and open to the public.

Image: Portuguese Tumbler, 2013, Silver Gelatin Print. Rachel Cox Photography.