Source: Nelson Smith, 785-532-6605, ndsmith@k-state.edu
Photos available. Contact media@k-state.edu or 785-532-6415.
News release prepared by: Megan Wilson, 785-532-6415, media@k-state.edu

Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2009

VISITING ARTISTS TO PRESENT EXHIBITION AND LECTURE-DEMONSTRATION AT K-STATE

MANHATTAN -- The Visiting Artists Series of Kansas State University's department of art is featuring work by Matt Shlian, Richard Elaver and Ryan Buyssens in the exhibition "Make Shift," available through Friday, Feb. 13, in Willard Hall's Chapman Gallery.

As part of the exhibition, Elaver and Buyssens will present a lecture-demonstration of their work at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 11, in 217 Willard Hall. The exhibition and lecture-demonstration are both free and open to the public.

"Make Shift" demonstrates the art of negotiating the mistranslation of information as geometry, form, image and text. Shlian is a paper engineer and printmaker who works with 3-D paper sculptures and digital drawings. Buyssens is a sculptor and video artist working with animatronics, and Elaver, a metalsmith and designer, works with scripting in 3-D modeling.

The demonstration by Elaver and Buyssens will be on their 3-D modeling techniques, using 3-D printing and growing their artwork through 3-D digital software and fabricating.

In addition to his jewelry, Elaver has professional experience in the design of medical equipment, consumer products, sporting goods and furniture. He is currently an assistant professor of design at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, teaching beginning and advanced 3-D design courses. He has a master of fine arts from the Cranbrook Academy of Art and a bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin.

Buyssens is manager of the Rapid Prototyping Studio at the California College of the Arts in Oakland, Calif. He also has served as an adjunct professor at Saginaw Valley State University and Indiana University, among others, where he taught courses in art appreciation on the elements and historical significance of art, as well as courses in dimensional art. He has a master of fine arts in sculpture from the Cranbrook Academy of Art and a bachelor of fine arts from Saginaw Valley State University.

Matthew Shlian is currently an instructor at the School of Art and Design at the University of Michigan and at Washtenaw Community College. His professional experience includes working at the U.S. Mint, where he created drawings and concepts for new state quarter designs, commemorative coins and designs for the Medal of Honor. He has a master of fine arts from the Cranbrook Academy of Art and a bachelor of fine arts from New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University.