COLUMBUS, Miss. – Artwork by four Mississippi University for Women instructors is represented in the “Faculty Biennial Exhibition,” which will run through Tuesday, Oct. 23.

A reception is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 18 from 4–5:30 p.m. in the Mississippi University for Women Galleries as part of the Welty Series.

Faculty members represented in the exhibition include Ian Childers, Shawn Dickey, Robert Gibson and Alex Stelioes-Wills.

With a nod to his “street” artist background, Childers exhibits plaster-cast skulls, chicken heads, and graffiti-covered pots. He started making these objects as an alternative to painting on public surfaces, a form of tagging or making one’s presence known.

Childers also showcases his porcelain vessels adorned with crystalline glaze. Through chemistry and a very specific firing schedule, he is able to grow two-dimensional crystals on the surface of these pots.

In response to 18th-century British Grand Manner portraits, Dickey’s work this year features large-scale photographs of elderly family and friends. These photographs are backlit in special metal boxes. By hanging them in dim light, the images appear to glow and their presence emanates from their metal containers.

The pieces on display by Gibson show a range of interests, with a focus on photographs made while traveling through Thailand this summer. Colorful, chaotic street scenes are featured in these large-scale prints. He rounds out his display with delicate watercolors, some of which incorporate deftly cut shapes to create three-dimensional images.

Stelioes-Wills presents three series of non-objective paintings, each of which combines drawing and painting materials. Vertical marks and lines dominate in each painting to suggest the mood and colors of the Missouri landscape in January.

Located in Summer Hall, Mississippi University for Women Galleries are open Monday – Friday, 8 a.m.–5 p.m. following the university calendar. The Galleries are free and open to the public.