Paul Mesaros Gallery to display ceramics student’s work

It’s out with the old and in with the new at the Paul Mesaros Gallery at the Creative Arts Center.

With the help of Robert Bridges, curator of the Mesaros Galleries and West Virginia University students, the School of Art and Design is the newest addition to the Mesaros Galleries this week – a short exhibition into the art of ceramics.

The gallery is clearing out the prints that have been on display since January, and the College of Creative Arts is installing their annual Master of Fine Arts ceramics exhibition in its place.

Thomas Stollar, a Master of Fine Arts Ceramics student, will showcase a collection of his work at the exhibit.

The exhibition kicked off Tuesday night along with Stollar’s contribution entitled, "Metonymic." The CAC will be hosting the exhibition from now until April 3.

The exhibition accumulates the works of the finest masters students within the College of Creative Arts and aims to present a peak into the minds of artists working towards their degrees. It also gives them a final chance to make a lasting impression on the University as a whole.

Stollar is native of Pennsylvania and he received his undergraduate at West Liberty University.

Stollar’s main goal with his work is to portray real life and bridge the gap between art and the real world that surrounds us.

"I am also a lover of objects and creating them," Stollar said in a press release by WVUToday. "My thesis show tries to bridge the gap between the art object and all the ‘art’ that happens in regards to the creation of that object."

Stollar said in the press release he was able to use a daily journal to channel his character and many feelings in preparation for creating his collection of artwork.

By taking main ideas from these entries, he was able to bring forth the collection that is on display today.

"I am interested in things that happen in our lives that we do not consider to be of much importance, and yet, in my opinion, those things shape who we are," Stollar said.

The exhibition, which is being held in both galleries within the Creative Arts Center, is free and open to the public.