NEW GALLERY DIRECTOR IS ALSO WORKING ARTIST

Newly appointed Cushing-Martin Gallery Director Candice Smith Corby is also a busy working artist, represented by the Miller Block Gallery on Newbury Street in Boston.  Examples of her  imaginative pieces are featured on the Gallery’s Web site, and she recently returned from a group exhibition at California State University, Fullerton.

Entitled “Domestic Departures,” the Cal State exhibit featured eight contemporary female artists whose works – filled with childhood fantasies, household objects, and female role-playing – redefined domestic environments, settings, and spaces. Each of the artist’s works contained a running narrative.

Depicting Traditional Female Imagery
For Smith Corby, the narratives in her intricate paintings depict traditional female imagery. An upcoming contemporary image-maker and specialist in two-dimensional design, she uses scale, color, and her drawing skills to reflect her ideas and encourage new ones on the part of the viewer.

Creating miniature environments painted on found objects, such as fabric, canvas, and paper, Smith Corby transformed them into large-scale wall installations for the Cal State exhibit. Delicately painted fabric napkins, doilies, and furniture represented familiar objects carried through life, and each had an energy because of memories and emotions from their past.

“I started work on the exhibit last May, and the curators brought me out to California the week before the opening to install the big wall piece,” explained Smith Corby. “It took about four and one-half days to paint the wall and install the images.”

Guiding Cushing Martin Gallery
Smith Corby, who came to Stonehill in August 2007, previously taught two-dimensional painting and drawing at Framingham State College (FSC). She also managed FSC's Mazmanian Gallery.

As Cushing-Martin Gallery Director, she will coordinate approximately eight shows per year, one-half of which will be exhibitions of professional artists.

Other exhibitions will include a biennial Stonehill faculty arts show, a biennial alumni arts shows, and an annual  senior arts show, featuring works by senior Stonehill students. 

In addition, Smith Corby assists Professor of Art History Carole Calo with the Senior Capstone course, "Exhibitions and Collections."  Each year, the student curators-in-training choose artwork and prepare a display for the Gallery.

Her goals for the gallery include a career panel for students in February 2008 and the inception of a “visiting sculptor” program to display various works on campus.

“As curator, I visit various art galleries, researching artists and their works. Once I find a common thread, it is my job to pull the works together in a thematic gallery exhibit,” explains Smith Corby. “Exhibition design is a favorite part of my job, and I also enjoy coordinating the visiting artist programs and our annual career panel.

Impressed by Fine Arts at Stonehill
“Each Cushing-Martin Gallery exhibit is open to the public, and we often hold receptions and artist’s talks. I am extremely impressed with the Stonehill students’ excitement about contemporary art, as well as the dedication of the Fine Arts Department faculty,” added Smith Corby.

Currently curating exhibits for 2008-2009, her first exhibit will be the Alumni Art Show, scheduled for January 14 through February 19, 2008.

A graduate of the Tyler School of Art, Temple University, Smith Corby studied for a year at the School’s Rome campus. She received a master’s degree in Fine Arts from the Massachusetts College of Art in Boston.

Among Smith Corby’s many exhibits are “Sweetness” at the Boston University School of Visual Arts, “New Work” at the Miller Block Gallery in Boston, Mass., “New England Currents” at the Danforth Museum in Framingham, Mass., and “The 18th Drawing Show” at the Boston Center for the Arts.

To view additional works of art by Smith Corby, visit here.

12/10/07