Art Lovers, Exhibitions Drawn to New Spaces

Editors’ Note: This feature appears as it was published in the spring 2018 edition of UT Dallas Magazine. Titles or faculty members listed may have changed since that time.
A new 6,000-square-foot visual arts gallery complex opened in the fall with an inaugural exhibition celebrating the works of alumni artists.
“Critical Mass” featured 45 artists who received visual arts degrees and went on to have successful careers in the arts.
Dr. Dennis Kratz, dean of the School of Arts and Humanities and the Ignacy and Celina Rockover Professor of Humanities, said the exhibition highlighted diverse works of UTD artists who are recognized in the regional, national and international scenes.
“It is my hope that the retrospective exhibition and the new gallery call attention not only to the success of the visual arts during the past 20 years, but also—and more importantly—to the benefits that a vibrant and varied cultural environment bring to the University,” Kratz said ahead of the opening reception.
The SP/N Gallery is located at 3020 Stewart Drive in Richardson, on the northwest corner of campus in the Synergy Park North 2 Building. The complex consists of two conjoined exhibition spaces dedicated to both student and professional creative research, including two project rooms, a reception area, an office and a preparation space. The gallery also will house the Comer Collection of Photography.
Gallery hours are 11 am-4 pm, Tuesday-Wednesday; 1-6 pm, Thursday and Friday; and 11 am-4 pm, Saturday.
Colorful works, including Steph Hargrove’s bottle cap feature titled “4168 (species lost per month to deforestation),” are part of the first show in the new space.