Metalsmith deals with human relationships in ‘Estrangeira’

Metalsmith [Lauren McAdams] (http://laurenmcselden.com/metal-sculpture/) explores the inner emotions of interpersonal relationships in “Estrangeira,” an exhibit set for March 23 – April 23 at the Wright Gallery, located on the second floor of the Langford Architecture Center’s Building A on the Texas A&M campus.

A reception for McAdams will be held at the gallery 5 – 7 p.m. March 24.

“My work deals with human relationships and all the trials and tribulations that accompany them,” said McAdams. “Each piece has traces of love, politics, social circumstances, childhood, magic, preciousness and potential.”

An assistant professor of art metals at Stephen F. Austin State University, McAdams employs traditional metalsmithing and jewelry making techniques, as well as  blacksmithing, silkscreening and metal fabrication.

“I always look for new techniques to try, and although my themes are similar, they are ever-changing, and I look forward to seeing which direction my work will turn next,” she said.

Her pieces’ varied symbolism leave her work open to interpretation, creating a puzzle for viewers to solve in their own way, she said.

Her work has been displayed at the Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition in Abilene, Texas, the [Sculpture Walk] (http://www.stjoearts.org/sculpture_walk_sculptures.html) in St. Joseph, Mo. and a solo exhibition at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft.

Her sculptures have also been exhibited at the Arkansas Arts Center in Little Rock, Ark., the Night Gallery in Tempe, Ariz. and in Phoenix Sky Harbor’s Airport Museum.

She was selected to take part in an SFA-sponsored project in Brazil in 2014, where she created a piece in an artists’ workshop for the 3rd Biennal da Bahia.

McAdams has earned the SFA College of Fine Arts’ Teaching Excellence Award and was an exhibitor at the university’s 2012 [Bright Ideas Conference] (http://www.sfasu.edu/6179.asp) , an event that focuses on innovative research, scholarship and artistry.

McAdams earned a Master of Fine Art degree at Arizona State University in 2008 and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at Murray State University in May 2005.

The next Wright Gallery exhibit, the final in a series of 2014-15 academic year [displays] (http://one.arch.tamu.edu/news/2014/11/10/wright-gallery-seven-exhibits/) ,  will feature collage, painting and film-based photography by [Michelle Robinson] (http://www.arch.tamu.edu/community/formerstudents/outstanding-alumni/past-honorees/141/) , ’91, character look development supervisor at [Walt Disney Animation Studios] (http://www.disneyanimation.com/) and an outstanding alumna of Texas A&M’s College of Architecture.