On Sept. 12, the University of Wisconsin-Superior celebrated the opening of Re-Imagining the Embrace of Nature, an art exhibit in the Experimental Gallery that showcases the work of UWS faculty member Gloria Eslinger.
Artists and Visual Arts Department Professor Gloria Eslinger (left) and Visual Arts Department Curator Anne Dugan (right) in the Experimental (Project) Gallery before Eslinger’s artist reception.
Photo: Maddie Schaffer | The Promethean
Over the summer, Eslinger dedicated her time to collecting various plastics and using it as a medium to create artwork.
Eslinger even reused and repurposed previous pieces to create the exhibit, which is dedicated to the idea of pushing artistic mediums, as well as to bring awareness to pollution and the amount of plastic that is going into the landfills.
“The idea was that I saved for about 3 months, I saved all plastic things that were in my house or here at work. Then I decided to repurpose them to show this how much plastic that just one person can put together,” Eslinger says.
Students can see artwork in the Experimental Gallery upon entering Holden Fine Arts building.
Photo: Maddie Schaffer | The Promethean
Eslinger explained how she raised her pieces from just plastic art to fine art. “I made sure that I framed everything and presented everything in a fine art way, but really I just upcycled what would’ve gone into the landfill,” said Eslinger.
Eslinger uses her artwork to communicate with her audience and believes that this exhibit relays an important social message about pollution.
The exhibit will continue to be showcased in the Holden Fine and Applied Arts Center in the Experimental Gallery until Oct. 1, 2024.