Martin Museum of Art to Feature Contemporary Art Installations

Baylor University's Martin Museum of Art will be the site of two contemporary art installations by artists Victoria Star Varner and Jiyoung Chung. The exhibitions will run from Oct. 26-Nov. 30.
The Mysteries Revisited, the installation by Varner, creates a freestanding, open-ended chamber similar to that found in ancient Pompeian temples, in particular the Room of the Mysteries. Varner's paintings address the presumed "mysteries" of contemporary life and are integrated with a real architectural environment. Images of individuals or small groups of people depicted throughout the eight painting panels illustrate the uncertainty of experience in life and urge the viewer to contemplate the significance of human experience. Varner will be at the Martin Museum Thursday and Friday, Oct. 19-20, to install her paintings and the architectural structure that supports them.
Varner's paintings, drawings and prints have been seen in more than 100 exhibitions nationally and internationally, including the Atkins Museum in Kansas City; the Flinders Museum of Art, Australia; the Ilam School of Art, New Zealand; the Arkansas Art Center in Little Rock; and the Arlington Museum of Art. Varner holds a master of arts degree in painting from the University of Missouri at Columbia and a master of fine arts degree in printmaking from Indiana University, Bloomington. She is a professor of art at Southwestern University in Georgetown, where she also serves as the chair of the department of studio art and art history.
Chung is a mixed media artist and freelance writer. Her installation, The Story: Relationship, includes two-dimensional drawings and three-dimensional space drawings created with nails and string. Chung's work explores the relationships of God, humans and nature in abstract form. The exhibition will be a one-of-a-kind installation created specifically for the Martin Museum's gallery space. She will be at the Martin Museum Oct. 23-26 creating the installation.
Chung received a bachelor of fine arts degree in painting from Rhode Island School of Design with honors and earned a master of fine arts degree from Cranbrook Academy of Art in 2005. In 2002, she was the recipient of the Florence Lief Award. Her work has been featured in 11 solo shows in Korea, Finland and the United States, and she was an Artist-in-Residence at Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, Vt., and at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts in Minneapolis. She also has taught at many workshops and conferences in the U.S. and Korea.
An opening reception, including gallery talks by the artists, will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 26. To arrange an interview with the artists, call Karin Gilliam, director of the Martin Museum of Art, at (254) 710-6390.
The Martin Museum of Art is located in the Hooper-Schaefer Fine Arts Center on the Baylor campus. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday. The museum is closed during university holidays. Admission is free and all events are open to the public, unless specified. For more information call (254) 710-1867 or visit the museum website at www.baylor.edu/martinmuseum.