current show
The works of well-known Columbia artist Jo Stealey will be featured
in a new exhibition opening Oct. 21 at The Ashby-Hodge Gallery of
American Art at Central Methodist University in Fayette.
Stealey will be present for a reception in her honor at the gallery from
1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 21. The title of her exhibition is “Art
Nourishes the Soul: The Soul Sustains Art – Installations and Works of
Jo Stealey.”
The exhibition will run through Dec. 13 except for a brief closure
Thanksgiving week, from Nov. 18 to 25. Gallery hours will be 1:30 to
4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday. For more
information or to arrange tours, contact Dr. Joe Geist at 660-248-6304
(office), or 248-6324 (Gallery), or by e-mail at jegeist@centralmethodist.edu.
Stealey, a native of Wentzville, is a professor of art and head of the
fiber arts program at the University of Missouri-Columbia, where she has
been on the Department of Art faculty since 1992. She also served as the
Visiting Professor of Textile programs during the winter 2007 semester
at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. Stealey holds a doctorate
in art education from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
A fiber artist, Stealey works with a variety of materials, including
handmade paper. A background in ceramics and weaving influence some of
the technical and conceptual underpinnings of her work. Stealey said she
has always “had a love for functional clay forms, as well as traditional
textiles, particularly baskets.” Much of her work is three-dimensional.
Her exhibition at The Ashby-Hodge Gallery includes three major
installations that are all three- dimensional, as well as wall hangings
and some of her vessel art. The vessel art, too, is an extension of her
ceramic and weaving background.
Also being shown during the Stealey exhibition are several epic
paintings from the permanent collection of The Ashby-Hodge Gallery of
American Art.
