By Amberly Boone, Brelsford WSU Visitor Center
PULLMAN, Wash. – Faculty members Phil Gruen, Robert Krikac, Kathleen Ryan and Carrie Vielle will display their artwork as part of the annual Pullman ArtWalk July 14-19 at the Brelsford Washington State University Visitor Center, 150 E. Spring Street.
A reception with the artists will be 5-8 p.m. Friday, July 18, with complimentary refreshments; wine tasting will be available for $5. Works by the artists will be available for purchase.
Phil Gruen is assistant professor and interim director of the School of Design and Construction. His principal research involves American architecture and urbanism. He is particularly interested in the tug-of-war between the marketing of the built environment and its experience in human action and memory – themes he brings into the classroom as well as into his photography.
His images are introspective, memory-evoking portraits of how design can impose itself on our natural environment and psyches.
Krikac has been an associate professor in the school for 16 years. His areas of scholarship are design communication and education, primarily freehand sketching and design studio.
He practiced small commercial, residential and institutional design in the southwestern U.S. for 20 years in architecture and design firms.
Ryan is an assistant professor in the school working with students on participatory design for projects based in rural communities. Projects include an informal learning traveling exhibit for children and rural design projects in numerous small towns through the Rural Communities Design Initiative at WSU.
She has worked in sustainable design and construction for more than 30 years. Her projects include spatial and exhibit design for zoo, botanical garden, science center, museum and gallery.
Vielle has been an instructor for the school since 2011.
Her work celebrates the human form and its ability to express emotions through body language. Her unique mixed-media layering technique combines painting, collage and drawing and has earned her representation in several prestigious galleries throughout the western United States.
Find more about the Pullman ArtWalk at http://www.pullmanchamber.com/visit-pullman/chamber-events/artwalk/.