Working with wood, egg, and earth, our art history and art studio students had an exciting opportunity to join an internationally renowned artist on an art installation on campus earlier this fall.
Through a curatorial practicum offered by the Art History program, 22 students attended a welcome and organizational meeting with the artist, Bright Ugochukwu Eke, and helped him with the installation of his sculpture during the week prior to the exhibition opening on October 1.
The exhibition Egg, Earth, and Essence was curated by Assistant Professor of Art History at Wesleyan, Okechukwu Nwafor. A striking composition of organic elements now on display at Olin Library, the sculpture engages with the politics of aesthetics and how they shape the discourses on the environment, especially as they pertain to the African continent.
The practicum also included a full-day excursion on September 28 to Storm King Art Center, a 500-acre outdoor sculpture park located in the Hudson River Valley, New York, with a particular focus on art and the environment.
“The practicum presented our students with a wonderful opportunity to work closely with the artist, who involved them in the installation process,” Professor Katherine Kuenzli, Chair of the Department of Art and Art History said. “Bright’s work takes its final form through a conversation between the space, the artist, and the community hosting it, so that the final outcome is not predetermined. Our conversations in Olin Library and at Storm King provided valuable insights into the dynamic and meaningful interrelationships between sculptural objects and their sites, with Bright sharing his very generous, insightful, and humane perspectives,” she added.
For Art Studio senior Matty Shields ’25, the most impactful part of the practicum was the visit to Storm King with the artist. “Getting to connect with Bright and other students in a renowned sculpture institution away from the academic realms of Wesleyan, allowed conversations about broad artistic processes, site specific approaches, and materials that provided a context for Bright’s work and the practicum that could have never been found on campus,” Shields said.
“Our conversations in Olin Library and at Storm King provided valuable insights into the dynamic and meaningful interrelationships between sculptural objects and their sites, with Bright sharing his very generous, insightful, and humane perspectives.”
– Professor Katherine Kuenzli, Chair of the Department of Art and Art History
Egg, Earth, and Essence will be on display until February 2, 2025. The exhibit is presented by the Department of Art and Art History and Olin Library, with generous support from Bailey College of the Environment and the Virgil and Juwil Topazio Fund. Co-sponsors include African American Studies, African Studies, American Studies, College of Letters, Office of the Dean of Arts and Humanities, Office of the Dean of Social Sciences, Fries Center for Global Studies, and Samuel C. Silipo ‘85 Distinguished Visitors Fund.