Retrospective gallery combines with on-going works

When Ryan McLaughlin, a perspective graduate student interested in the School of Environmental and Public Affairs visited IU this past weekend, a gallery opening wasn’t on his list of things to see.

“We were just walking around and found this,” McLaughlin said. 

McLaughlin stumbled upon the joint gallery openings for William Itter and Martha MacLeish at the School of Fine Arts Gallery on Friday.  

Itter’s exhibit, titled “William Itter: A Retrospective, Paintings and Drawings 1969-2009,” is a collection of pieces spanning the professor emeritus’ 40 year career.

The gallery, Itter said, is in retrospective, a form used for an artist to look back on the inspiration and thought process behind pieces of work. The paintings and drawings in the gallery all fall into time periods, in which Itter explored different themes and ideas.
 
Itter was also holding a joint reception for his collection of African pieces, titled “Form and Surface: African Ceramics, Baskets and Textiles from the William Itter Collection,” currently on display at the IU Art Museum. 

The African art exhibit has been on display since Sept. 26, but Itter said his work as a collector affected his work as an artist, so to hold a joint reception for both exhibits made logical sense.

McLaughlin said he was glad he had discovered the gallery opening and reception, even though the art was “not particularly my taste.” 
 
“His work has versatility,” McLaughlin said. “The work spans a wide medium. It’s pre-physicidelic, electrified cubism.”  

He added that when another gallery attendee told him who Itter was, it completely changed his perspective. 

“It’s nice to know Itter was a professor, the fact that he has a reception and gallery here shows the school’s commitment to its faculty,” McLaughlin said. “It’s nice that they’re honoring his work.” 

Itter said his paintings, made primarily with bright, vivid colors and shapes, express things in nature around him and his own personal feelings during the time period they were painted.  

But, he said, they are meant to make people think because their intent is not immediately evident. 

“I hope people look at my art with wonder, curiosity, excitement and an open mind,” Itter said. 

Unlike McLaughlin, many attendees came to the gallery Friday knowing who the artists were and to support both Itter and MacLeish. 

Itter was busy greeting old students and friends who swarmed into the gallery. One viewer asked Itter for an autograph, which Itter said was unexpected and had never happened before.

“I don’t have big shows like this very often,” Itter said. “People, old students and friends have come from all over the place, even some collectors are here.”
Rebecca Sargent, said she came all the way from Dayton, Ohio with a professor who knew Itter.
“It’s very inspiring art,” Sargent said. “We were looking at a painting that explored landscape with pipe shapes. That one caught my eye.” 

McLeish’s exhibit, located in the east gallery titled “Surface Structures,” drew a large crowed as well, who went to both exhibits. Viewers appeared intrigued by her use of polyvinyl chloride plastic to make wall mounted structures of various colors.  

Attendees could be seen walking up to the pieces to inspect their construction, in which three-dimensional shapes contrasted with Itter’s two-dimensional drawings and paintings.

But McLeish, who directs the Fundamentals Studio department for the Henry Radford Hope School of Fine Arts, said the two artists, whose exhibits will be on display through Nov. 20, relate more then they are different.

“We both explore color and space,” McLeish said. “Bill was the old director of the fundamentals studio. He taught me so much.”

McLeish will also be holding a gallery talk noon on Nov. 13 at the SoFA gallery. She added that many people had talked to her about her ongoing project.

“They’ve given me very insightful comments,” McLeish said.