The sculptor and installation artist Michelle Acuff will be featured as we open “Surrogate” on November 14.

Acuff is Assistant Professor of Art at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington, and her work ranges from object making to installation to video and performance — addressing the eroding boundary between nature and culture, discourses of authorship, and the exciting intersections between science and art.

Acuff has been involved in a number of art projects with students. One of her projects, “Fence”, explores monuments such as Treaty Rock on the Whitman campus. By “interrogating” the history of the rock and plaques and the conflict surrounding them, Acuff and her students discovered the focus of the treaty was the removal of Native American land rights through the establishment of reservations.

The resulting work — a barbed wire fence confining the monument – has caused an interaction between community members, faculty, and students.

We hope you’ll be inspired by this artist and will take a look at the exhibit. We’ll host a free public reception Wednesday, November 14 from 3 – 7 p.m. The exhibit will run from November 14 to December 5.