Reed Fine Art Gallery presents H(squared)

The University of Maine at Presque Isle's Reed Fine Art Gallery will showcase the work of UMPI's two newest Fine Art Faculty members when it presents the exhibition H(squared): New Work by Hyrum Benson and Heather Sincavage from March 2 to April 14. The public is invited to attend the exhibition's reception with the artists, to be held on Friday, March 2 from 5-7 p.m. The reception is being held in conjunction with the Presque Isle First Friday Art Walk.

H(squared) is an exhibition of Benson and Sincavage's newest work made since both have transplanted to Aroostook County.

Hyrum Benson is a ceramics artist originally from Idaho, who joined the UMPI faculty after teaching at the University of North Texas since 2006. Benson is an accomplished artist with several years of successful exhibits and shows. He has presented exhibitions in galleries from Texas and Georgia to Kansas and Idaho, and has art work in the permanent collection at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. Benson said his current ceramic work focuses on the formal elements of design, but that he is also interested in, and with, the industrial.

"I am exploring how the mass-produced relate to ceramics, how engineered parts reproduced by hand translate on the vessel and sculptural forms," Benson said. "As of now, my surface treatment is very minimal to add focus to the form. I am currently influenced by architectural and engineering feats, graphic design, interior design, green design and green architecture, and, in a way, this all comes back to play a part in my work."

Benson is a graduate of the University of North Texas with his MFA in Ceramics, and Brigham Young University-Idaho with a BFA in 3D Studies, Ceramics emphasis.

Heather Sincavage is a mixed media artist who relocated to Maine from Pennsylvania. She has taught the past six years at Lehigh University and 10 years at the Baum School of Art. She has had several commissioned pieces and exhibitions at galleries in Pennsylvania, Texas, and New Jersey, and as far away as Spain. Sincavage has been awarded numerous Pennsylvania Council on the Arts grants; been grant funded to attend the Vermont Studio Center; and was a Spring 2010 Artist in Residence at Lehigh University. In May 2011, she was awarded the "Outstanding Contributions to Visual Art" Award by the Allentown Arts Commission, City of Allentown.

"In the context of the contemporary portrait, I explore materiality as the conduit of portraying one's emotional construct," Sincavage said of her work. "The portrait is less about superficial appearance and more about one's consciousness."

Sincavage is a graduate of the University of Washington with an MFA in Metal Design, concentrating on interdisciplinary practices. Her BFA is from Tyler School of Art, Temple University, in Jewelry and Metalsmithing.

The reception for H(squared), which will feature a talk by both artists, will be held in the Reed Fine Art Gallery on Friday, March 2, from 5-7 p.m. The public is invited to attend. There is no charge and light refreshments will be served.

The Reed Fine Art Gallery is open Monday through Saturday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The gallery is closed Sundays and University holidays. For more information about this event, please contact Sincavage at 768-9442.