VISUAL ARTS + MUSEUMS

Blaffer Gallery, the Art Museum of the University of Houston, is pleased to present Young Artist Apprenticeship Program: Alternating/Current, on view March 14 through March 29, 2009.

The exhibition is the culmination of the six-week Young Artist Apprenticeship Program, a comprehensive art workshop held each fall and spring semester for a group of area high school students. There will be a free opening reception and awards ceremony on Friday, March 13, at 5:30 p.m. at the museum. Blaffer Gallery is located in the Fine Arts Building on the University of Houston's central campus.

Artist mentors Audry Herber and Patrick Renner led the group of 12 students in individual and group projects inspired by Blaffer's current exhibitions. The students worked with the subject of industrial landscapes found in Texas Oil: Landscape of an Industry and experimented with different ways to work with clay and paint, the materials highlighted in Electric Mud.

Participating students, chosen from Austin High School, Chavez High School, Eastwood Academy and Milby High School, include Joann Castellanos, Desiree Chagoya, Yolanda Cruz, Monica Cuellar, Minelya DeLeon, Consuelo Gonzales, Marisol Hernandez, Monserrat Olmos, Priscilla Ordaz, Janett Reyna, Michael Tran and Yesenia Vasquez. The artist mentors will award two students a Martha Meier Scholarship for excellence in art at the opening reception.

"With Alternating/Current, Patrick and I challenged the YAAP students to find the beautiful or unique by observing and drawing a landscape considered unremarkable, ultimately exploring the notion of what is hidden both above and below the surface of their neighborhoods," stated Herber. "Experimenting with diverse techniques such as bisque-fired ceramics colored with oil pastels and painting with clay slip on canvas paper, the work that was chosen represents the individual excellence of these talented students."

About Blaffer Gallery:
Founded in 1973, Blaffer Gallery, the Art Museum of the University of Houston, was named in honor of the late Sarah Campbell Blaffer, a noted Houston arts patron and collector. Since its inception, the museum has been a vital force in the presentation and promotion of contemporary visual arts in Houston. Blaffer Gallery is located in the Fine Arts Building on the University of Houston's central campus, entrance 16 off Cullen Boulevard. It is free and open to the public Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed Sundays, Mondays and university holidays. The museum is ADA compliant. For general inquiries, please call 713.743.9530, or visit the museum online at www.blaffergallery.org.

Pictured:  Priscilla Ordaz, Pipe Body.