August 29, 2018 at 4:37 p.m.
Exhibit is formal
BSU instructor’s sculptures will be shown at Arts Place
Exhibit is formal
Chet Geiselman’s art is formal.
And by that, he doesn’t mean elaborate or fancy.
Rather, he pays attention to the shape, contour and pattern — the form — of the objects involved.
So while his work is “formal,” it’s not inaccessible.
“I’ve noticed a lot of different ages of people enjoy it,” said the artist and Ball State University professor. “It’s approachable. It’s easy to enter into my work on different levels.”
Area residents will get a chance to see Geiselman’s formal pieces on display, as his “Minding the Gaps in the Foundation of the Sensual” begins Friday at Arts Place in Portland.
The exhibit will feature all bas-relief work, a style of sculpture in which the figures project from the background — in this case, a white, wood frame. The pieces are mostly made out of wood.
“When I was in undergraduate school, we had a really good woodworking program and a really good sculptor who was making some really nice things out of wood,” Geiselman said, referencing John McNaughton. “He got me interested in working with wood.
“Over the years, it seems like I’ve always had a job somehow related to woodworking.”
Some of his pieces also include “found objects.” He describes himself as a “collector and arranger of objects and information” and says each of his pieces “alludes to the potential functionality (past or present) of the objects that compose it.”
When Geiselman looks for objects around which to build his art, it’s not really a specific type of item that he’s seeking.
“It’s more of a feel,” said the native of Elberfeld, Indiana, a town of about 600 located north of Evansville near the intersection of interstates 69 and 64. “It’s a visual feel that they have about them. My work is very formal. It’s a lot about the form and how forms relate to other forms. So I’m more concerned with some of the formal attributes of objects as opposed to what their previous use might have been.”
Geiselman has degrees in art from the University of Southern Indiana and metalsmithing from Southern Illinois University, but interest in his chosen career started much earlier in life. His grandfather, father and uncle were welders, so he learned to create things with his hands at an early age.
And by that, he doesn’t mean elaborate or fancy.
Rather, he pays attention to the shape, contour and pattern — the form — of the objects involved.
So while his work is “formal,” it’s not inaccessible.
“I’ve noticed a lot of different ages of people enjoy it,” said the artist and Ball State University professor. “It’s approachable. It’s easy to enter into my work on different levels.”
Area residents will get a chance to see Geiselman’s formal pieces on display, as his “Minding the Gaps in the Foundation of the Sensual” begins Friday at Arts Place in Portland.
The exhibit will feature all bas-relief work, a style of sculpture in which the figures project from the background — in this case, a white, wood frame. The pieces are mostly made out of wood.
“When I was in undergraduate school, we had a really good woodworking program and a really good sculptor who was making some really nice things out of wood,” Geiselman said, referencing John McNaughton. “He got me interested in working with wood.
“Over the years, it seems like I’ve always had a job somehow related to woodworking.”
Some of his pieces also include “found objects.” He describes himself as a “collector and arranger of objects and information” and says each of his pieces “alludes to the potential functionality (past or present) of the objects that compose it.”
When Geiselman looks for objects around which to build his art, it’s not really a specific type of item that he’s seeking.
“It’s more of a feel,” said the native of Elberfeld, Indiana, a town of about 600 located north of Evansville near the intersection of interstates 69 and 64. “It’s a visual feel that they have about them. My work is very formal. It’s a lot about the form and how forms relate to other forms. So I’m more concerned with some of the formal attributes of objects as opposed to what their previous use might have been.”
Geiselman has degrees in art from the University of Southern Indiana and metalsmithing from Southern Illinois University, but interest in his chosen career started much earlier in life. His grandfather, father and uncle were welders, so he learned to create things with his hands at an early age.
And whereas some parents might discourage pursuing a career in the arts because of a perceived lack of jobs or money in the area, Art and Jackie Geiselman were different.
“I had a really artistic home life,” said Geiselman, whose sister Leslie is a retired elementary school art teacher. “My dad was sort of a designer and inventor and an artist. And my mom was really into music and singing. So they … made it OK that we both went into the arts.”
His work has been displayed across the country, including at a series of six one-person exhibitions at Vale Craft Gallery in Chicago. He’s stretched overseas as well, with some of his whimsical lamps from a previous body of work being displayed at a gallery in Switzerland.
Geiselman has taught sculpture, metalsmithing, art appreciation and art education during career stops at Broward Community College in Flort Lauderdale, Florida, Vincennes University, Henderson Communtiy College in Kentucky, the University of Southern Indiana, Angelina College in Lufkin Texas and Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas.
It was while at Stephen F. Austin that he noticed a College Art Association job posting for Ball State University, McNaughton’s alma mater.
“I thought, ‘Hey, I’ve heard of Ball State. I’ve heard it’s really good,’” Geiselman said.
Now he is an instructor of art and manager of the 3-D studio at BSU, where he has worked for 11 years.
An opening reception for the exhibit is scheduled for 5 to 7 p.m. Sept. 7. The exhibit will run through Sept. 30 at the facility at 131 E. Walnut St.
“I had a really artistic home life,” said Geiselman, whose sister Leslie is a retired elementary school art teacher. “My dad was sort of a designer and inventor and an artist. And my mom was really into music and singing. So they … made it OK that we both went into the arts.”
His work has been displayed across the country, including at a series of six one-person exhibitions at Vale Craft Gallery in Chicago. He’s stretched overseas as well, with some of his whimsical lamps from a previous body of work being displayed at a gallery in Switzerland.
Geiselman has taught sculpture, metalsmithing, art appreciation and art education during career stops at Broward Community College in Flort Lauderdale, Florida, Vincennes University, Henderson Communtiy College in Kentucky, the University of Southern Indiana, Angelina College in Lufkin Texas and Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas.
It was while at Stephen F. Austin that he noticed a College Art Association job posting for Ball State University, McNaughton’s alma mater.
“I thought, ‘Hey, I’ve heard of Ball State. I’ve heard it’s really good,’” Geiselman said.
Now he is an instructor of art and manager of the 3-D studio at BSU, where he has worked for 11 years.
An opening reception for the exhibit is scheduled for 5 to 7 p.m. Sept. 7. The exhibit will run through Sept. 30 at the facility at 131 E. Walnut St.
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