EMERITA
September 7 - October 20, 2018
A retrospective of Debora Hunter and Mary Vernon, an exhibition featuring works by the two recently retired SMU art professors.
Curated by: Sofia Bastidas Vivar
Hunter taught photography at SMU from 1976 until her retirement in 2017; Vernon taught at SMU from 1967 until her retirement in 2018. This two-person retrospective honors their collective 90-year contribution to the Meadows School, exhibiting work from the 1970s to the present.
The exhibit will feature both color and black and white photos by Hunter. Included are images of Taos, N.M., exploring the relationship between the manmade and the natural, and photos showing care at the beginning of life, featuring babies, and at the end of life, focusing on hospice patients, among other bodies of work. Vernon has taken a painting from 20 years ago,Normandy, and reflected on it to make a new painting, Normandy Again. Her paintings feature her interpretations of landscapes and still lifes, often marked by soft lines and blended colors in media including oil, acrylic and graphite.
“Both Mary and Debora were profoundly influential professors as well as established artists,” said Sofia Bastidas, curatorial fellow of the Pollock Gallery. “Their work is fueled by a diversity of encounters and perspectives, combining unbridled imagination with disciplinary rigor and incisive critical thought. This exhibit builds upon their legacy of excellence in the fields of art and pedagogy.”
A publication about the artists accompany the show and will include essays by James Sullivan and Temple Shipley.