SEMO professor Bodenheimer art exhibit opening this weekend

Crisp Museum will host a display of selected works by artist Louise Bodenheimer in an exhibition titled "Hybrid", which she said is also an accurate description of her art practice.

"Hybrid is a collection of previous and recent design, illustration and other works that reflect my interests in multiple expressions of imagery," Bodenheimer said on the museum's website, www.semo.edu/museum/exhibitions/louise-bodenheimer. "My background in painting and graphic design have fostered this blending that I have had for a number of years."

Bodenheimer, a professor and area head of the Graphic and Interactive Design program in Southeast Missouri State University's Department of Art and Design, said she explores a mixed media, including watercolors, markers and pen and ink. She said she uses a variety of materials such as paper, vellum or board in addition to digital applications for her art.

"I tend to work fast, and these materials help me stay in sync with what my brain, which can be quite busy with its own 3-ring circus landscape, is processing," Bodenheimer said.

The exhibit will open at 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 19, at Crisp Museum SEMO's River Campus.

A reception for the exhibition will begin at 1 p.m., and Bodenheimer will give a gallery talk at 5 p.m. Sept. 1 at the museum, 518 S Fountain St., in Cape Girardeau.

She said there is a lot of emotion behind her work achieved with the use of contrasts of color and writing, and being honest with what she wants to say.

"Which can feel a bit risky at times," Bodenheimer said. "I try to respond to inspiration with some discretionary judgment, but not too much, because I believe that can be restrictive to the point that the work becomes dishonest and too focused on what the audience might think."

Bodenheimer has had her work published in Missouri Life magazine as well as designing brand material for the university's Holland College of Arts and Media annual River Campus Summer Arts Festival since 2013. Her professional graphic design work, along with that of her students, has received various awards through the American Advertising Federation.

An example of her design work, The Musical Heritage mural, resides on the side of Shivelbine's Music building in downtown Cape Girardeau. More of Bodenheimer's work may be found online at www.behance.net/LouiseBodenheimer and www.pinterest.com/lmcleanbodenhei/art-design-louise-mclean-bodenheimer.

"Hybrid" will remain on display through Sunday, Sept. 24. A second reception is scheduled for 4 to 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 1, at the museum. For more information, call Crisp Museum at (573) 651-2260.

"It was absolute joy to pull these works together, as a sort of historical timeline of growth," Bodenheimer said. "I hope that viewers will leave the exhibition with something special for them."