INDIANA UNIVERSITY PURDUE UNIVERSITY INDIANAPOLIS

COMMUNICATIONS & MARKETING Administration Building, Suite 136 355 N. Lansing Street Indianapolis, Indiana 46202-2896 317-274-7711 Fax: 317-274-5457

HERRON GALLERY EXHIBIT SHOWCASES FURNITURE AS ART

INDIANAPOLIS - While you may have considered that 100-year-old desk or that unique modern table more than just a piece of furniture, you may have never thought of furniture as art.

Furniture designer Wendy Maruyama, whose work will be on display at Herron Gallery Jan. 9 - Feb. 2, will likely change your mind. The exhibit, entitled "The Inside Story," will focus on furniture's interior versus exterior and include pieces such as cabinets, vanities, trunks, chests and more that she designed and created herself.

The exhibit will open at Herron Gallery, 1701 N. Pennsylvania St., on Jan. 9 with a reception from 5-7 p.m. Maruyama will speak at the reception and will then spend a week conducting workshops with Herron School of Art students and faculty.

Maruyama, a professor at San Diego State University, is a frequent guest speaker at colleges across the country and enjoys visiting the different campuses. "Each campus is so different and it is refreshing to see what professors are having their students work on in other parts of the country," she said. "In some ways, students are a mirror of the continuing changes in the art world and their visions of what furniture holds is constantly changing and interpretations are always evolving."

Herron Gallery Director David Russick feels it's important to expose Herron School of Art students to artists who work in a variety of media. When Maruyama visits, he said, "the students will get a chance to diversify their own experiences as a photographer, a painter, a printmaker, or other type of artist, by hearing what this woodworker has to say."

Maruyama has presented many solo and group exhibitions across the world. She has received four Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts in support of her work as well as a Fulbright grant for a residency in England. Maruyama's work is held by numerous private collectors and in several public collections including the American Craft Museum in New York.

Herron Gallery is a 22-year-old not-for-profit contemporary art gallery that compliments the educational goals of Herron School of Art. It serves as a community and regional forum for the viewing and discussion of art and hosts seven to nine exhibits annually. Indianapolis Monthly magazine recently named it the city's Best Art Gallery.

Herron Gallery is open Monday-Saturday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. with extended hours on Thursdays until 7 p.m. The gallery is closed on Sundays. For more information, please call the Herron Gallery at (317) 920-2420. The exhibit is free and open to the public.

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