Wichita State University
Located on the second floor of McKnight Art Center West, the Clayton Staples Gallery is a dynamic exhibition space for the work of visiting artists, faculty and master's students.
Every academic year, the School of Art, Design and Creative Industries produces four exhibitions of work by regional and national artists. In addition to exhibiting their work, visiting artists typically deliver a public lecture and conduct student critiques and/or facilitate a workshop or demonstration.
The Clayton Staples Gallery is also used as an exhibition space for graduate thesis shows.
Previous Exhibition
Sophia Agbayani, Madison Bowron, Christina Bruce, Tim Fey, Paola Iseley, Evelyn Mar, Olivia D'Laine, and Katherine Snider: "Untitled: Student Creations Across Disciplines"
April 26 - May 3, 2024
Opening Reception: Friday, April 26, 5:00 - 7:00 pm
Scott Jones
April 10 - April 16, 2024
Work Statement:
“My work is self-reflective; the political aspects aren’t necessarily the inspiration, but the introspective and psychological aspects are.” - Scott Jones
My current work is an exploration and examination of masculinity through the lens of my own personal experiences—particularly the newness of being a father—especially during graduate school where there can be moments of intensity to work through. It’s all about embracing modern masculinity; a lot of which is rooted in self-empathy. Masculinity has evolved, and the world is establishing new groundwork, my work is trying to catch up to that. It’s not that, “we’re behind,” I think that’s a stretch, it’s just that we weren’t educated. My work is self-reflective; the political aspects aren’t necessarily the inspiration, but the introspective and psychological aspects are.
My work also ties into 60s Abstract Expressionist sculpture and painting - a lot of which was rooted in outdated patriarchal ideology. That’s why I titled my show “Reclaimed,” there’s a lot I’m reclaiming: myself, my own ideas of empathy, but also this form of expression from its past.
Mollykate Geddis: "Visual Pleasure"
March 29 - April 3, 2024
Exhibition Statement:
“We adore chaos because we love to produce order.” - Maurits Cornelis Escher
Human beings crave and enjoy order, but they also enjoy the process of creating order out of chaos. Escher’s quote implies that the desire for order comes from a need for structure. While my work is not about the polarity between chaos and order, it provides a sense of reflection on the human tendency to create a balance between two opposing forces that coexist and interconnect. With this introspective frame of mind, one can begin to understand the connection between organizing and reducing anxiety.
Creating order and structure in one's environment can help promote a sense of calm and control.
I use visual pleasures to stimulate and celebrate anxiety, which can be related to the experience of feeling moved by visual stimulus. I use design tools such as color, line, texture, and overall composition to create sources of visual pleasure. This provides the viewer an opportunity to organize and contemplate construction or deconstruction where the visual pleasures diverge. The crocheted connections demonstrate a meticulous construction process to join each porcelain element. The disparate components come together which provokes contemplation about the dual nature of creating and dismantling, and the tension between them. The crocheted elements show interconnection and interdependence, with each loop relying on the others for integrity which highlights the delicate nature of relationships.
Anthony Corraro: "To Dust"
March 18 - 22, 2024
Exhibition Statement:
"To Dust" is a solo MFA Thesis exhibition from Anthony Corraro. "To Dust" is composed
of prints made entirely out of dust which was meticulously gathered by sweeping up
the artist's studio space and home. Using CMYK silkscreen techniques, Anthony creates
intricate yet ephemeral designs which embody the tension between idealism and realism.
The dust which makes up the work is not affixed to any surface and is susceptible
to even the slightest disturbance. Described by the artist as a practice in mindfulness,
the process is a representation of his relationship to the ebb and flow of time.
Arzu Ozkal & Irma Puškarević: "San Diego/Wichita/Mail Art/Design/Play"
February 5 - March 8, 2024
(installation images forthcoming)
Exhibition Statement:
Clayton Staples Gallery is delighted to present a collborative exhibition, "San Diego/Wichita/Mail Art/Design/Play." In September 2023, Arzu Ozkal (San Diego,
CA) and Irma Puškarević (Wichita, KS) agreed to collaborate on a mail art exchange
project, drawing inspiration from the legacy of creative practitioners who utilized
the postal system to send and receive art—a movement that gained momentum in the 1960s
known as the International Mail Art Movement or Correspondence Art. This dynamic exchange
culminated in the creation of the San Diego/Wichita Mail Art/Design/Play Exhibition.
Informed by the unconventional and experimental nature of Fluxus, their process embraced absurdity, spontaneity, noise, mess. Their intention was not only to intellectually disorient one another, navigating the realms of artistic expression with a deliberate disruption of traditional boundaries, injecting a sense of unpredictability and conceptual inquiry into their collaborative exploration.
Informed by the unconventional and experimental nature of Fluxus, their process embraced absurdity, spontaneity, noise, mess. Their intention was not only to intellectually disorient one another, navigating the realms of artistic expression with a deliberate disruption of traditional boundaries, injecting a sense of unpredictability and conceptual inquiry into their collaborative exploration.
Arzu Ozkal (b. Ankara, Turkey, 1976, lives and works in San Diego, CA) & Irma Puškarević
(b. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1983, lives and works in Wichita, KS) Ozkal's
practice is committed to fostering collaboration and inclusivity while critically
engaging with social and cultural issues. Puškarević is a graphic designer, lettering
artist, and educator whose work focuses on her passion for type and typography.
WSU & ALU: "Wichita/Sarajevo Connecting Stories"
January 16 - 30, 2024
Exhibition Statement:
Clayton Staples Gallery is delighted to present a special winter treat, "Wichita/Sarajevo Connecting Stories," an exhibition that spans between Kansas & Bosnia and Herzegovina. Senior Graphic Design
students from Wichita State University and sophomore students from The Academy of
Fine Arts in Sarajevo were given the prompt of researching a significant story from
their own region as a means of introduction. Students were then tasked with creating
a unique deck of playing cards and we invite you to see the results.
WSU and ALU created these playing cards with the aim of learning and expanding our
world view through play and research. We hope you will join us for the special limited
engagement at Clayton Staples Gallery.