UNC Galleries

Art Walk & Reception: Thursday, September 11, 4:30-6:30 p.m.

Roots and Routes: Artistic Works by UNC Alumni
& the Lydia and Robert Ruyle Gallery Naming Ceremony
August 25–September 16 | Lydia and Robert Ruyle Gallery

Roots and Routes celebrates the creative paths of UNC alumni, highlighting both personal style and shared creative roots in their work. Experience the wide range of expression from the School of Art and Design and see how our alumni influence art communities near and far. You also won’t want to miss this reception on September 11—Campus Commons Gallery becomes the Lydia and Robert Ruyle Gallery in honor of artist, activist and UNC alumna Lydia Ruyle.

Solo Show by Steve Snell
September 3–October 10 | Mariani Gallery

See some of the latest work by visiting artist and adventurer Steve Snell, whose work engages American history, mythology, and the image of the Western landscape.

Character Generator by Dylan Collins
September 8–October 16 | Oak Room Gallery

Dylan Collins began this series by 3D scanning small improvisational studies made from clay, metal, wood and found objects. You’ll see how he brings disparate items into something cohesive, embracing the distortions and digital chatter that comes with these digital technologies. The exhibition shows you 3D printed artwork made from these pieces in materials like cast iron and urethane plastic. The effect is of broken narratives that embody ideas of mortality, humor and cryptic beauty.

Art Walk & Reception: Thursday, October 23, 4:30-6:30 p.m.

Soft Power
September 29–November 5 | Lydia and Robert Ruyle Gallery

Soft Power showcases artwork by many different women artists from 1890 to today. This exhibition explores acts of resistance and expressions of agency with art that shows domestic settings and uses arts and craft techniques. For many women artists, aligning with the domestic sphere has been both a way to question things and to find power. The quiet strength and careful details of these pieces invite you to notice subtle acts of protest and the fine lines between personal and political matters.

Gloop and Droop by Lucia Calderon Arrieta
October 20–November 20 | Mariani Gallery

From the artist: Welcome to the Gloop ‘N Droop Dimension—a world where squishy weirdos co-evolve to survive together softly. Where they seek each other out through the tenderness of touch. Whose pock-marked skins—no matter how thickened or bruised—remain energetically permeable. Here, felted portals create connections to inner dimensions of warmth and well-being. Here, blobby creatures ooze around pulpy caves, wondering, “Will I be safe out there?” Here, we co-create spells of community care, connection and interdependence. We answer, “This is how safety feels to me.”

Systemic by Erin Wohletz
October 22–November 21 | Oak Room Gallery

From the artist: This work considers the nature of broken systems and investigates the roles of enculturation, politics and faith as broken systems in America. As a nonbinary person, particularly in South Dakota, I often find myself existing in a broken offshoot or completely outside of conventional social structures. In this work I take on the role of gender archeologist, excavating and diagramming the queer history of gender.

Reception: Thursday, November 13, 4:30-6:30 p.m.

Annual Student Juried Exhibition
November 13– December 4 | Lydia and Robert Ruyle Gallery

Check out works by UNC students selected by an external juror!

UNC Student Holiday Sale
December 3 & 4 | Mariani Gallery 

A variety of artwork by UNC art and design students will be on sale during gallery hours! Come find the perfect handmade holiday gift and support our local artists.

Coding as Art: The Power of Collaboration
January 13-22 | Oak Room Gallery

UNC faculty member Anna Ursyn has collaborated with industry professionals, educators and students to emphasize storytelling, writing, coding and collaboration as ways to prepare students to be leading industry professionals.

Art Walk & Reception: Thursday, February 12, 4:30-6:30 p.m.

The Genteel Revolutionary by Ellamaria Foley-Ray
February 2–March 4 | Lydia and Robert Ruyle Gallery

How do memories of a community ancestor create a legacy of an authentic vision for future generations, particularly those from BIPOC communities, to reach their highest potential through public education? The Genteel Revolutionary: Embracing Dr. Rachel Bassette Noel’s Legacy invites you to explore this question through narrative quilts. Hear the story of how the first African American woman to hold public office in Colorado gained strength from her family, community, history and faith to help bring about the desegregation of Denver Public Schools.

Solo Show by Calista Lyon
January 20–February 26 | Mariani Gallery

You’ll see Calista Lyon’s work deconstruct historical and contemporary representations of landscape. She examines how images have been used to wield state, colonial, and imperial power to build nations.

grit and gristle by Rachel Linneman
February 2–March 6 | Oak Room Gallery

Reflecting on her Appalachian upbringing, Rachel Linnemann uses found objects to highlight blue collar and emotional labor and familial struggles. She transforms these items with costume jewelry, gold, pearls and opulence to raise everyday objects to a new level. This gives you the opportunity to find visual joy in topics of generational trauma that are difficult to talk about. You’ll see food as a symbol of community, poverty, family legacy and comfort and be invited to embrace both joy and hardship.

Art Walk & Reception: Thursday, March 5, 4:30-6:30 p.m.

Foundations Show
March 4-13 | Mariani Gallery

See artwork created by UNC students in visual arts Foundations classes!

Art Walk & Reception: Thursday, March 26, 4:30-6:30 p.m.

Fruiting Bodies by Kate Hooray Osmond
March 12–April 15 | Lydia and Robert Ruyle Gallery

From the artist: I experience a world where definitions and foundations are increasingly dissolute—a world of complete energy. These works represent an acknowledgement of change, abundance, sorrow, creation and destruction. I am embracing everything to see the complete balance of existence and to learn peace in a climate when nothing lasts.

Greeley & Friends Pop-Up Print Show!
March 24–April 2 | Mariani Gallery

See this unique pop-up printmaking show by local artists.

Oak Room Student Shows
March 24–April 2 | Oak Room Gallery

Individual student artists propose, create, curate and install their own exhibitions.

Art Walk & Reception: Thursday, April 9, 4:30-6:30 p.m.

Mariani & Oak Room Student Shows
April 7-16 | Mariani & Oak Room Galleries 

Individual student artists propose, create, curate and install their own exhibitions.

Art Walk & Reception: Thursday, April 30, 4:30-6:30 p.m.

Graphic Design Senior Show
April 21–May 1 | Campus Commons Gallery 

See the senior portfolio exhibition from UNC Graphic Design students.

Mariani & Oak Room Student Shows
April 21–May 30 | Mariani & Oak Room Galleries 

Individual student artists propose, create, curate and install their own exhibitions.

MA Graduate Thesis Exhibition
May 18–June 18 | Ruyle Gallery

See artwork from our first cohort of Master of Arts in Studio Art!

Ruyle Collection

The Ruyle Collection consists of over 500 works of art including more than 350 goddess banners, nearly 60 large scale images of crop circles and other phenomena from a variety of world cultures on mixed media and handmade paper, as well as other prints and paintings. The art of Lydia Ruyle is above all a method of sociological inquiry ultimately about connections between humanity, nature and spirit. She created works of art that soulfully express divine aspects of life–particularly as it connects to feminine strength. Lydia’s works, including her goddess iconography from around the globe and other representations of phenomena such as crop circles, were inspired by images revered throughout various cultures across time and place in human history. The collection serves as a learning laboratory for students in the Curatorial and Public History certificate program as well as for arts-based researchers in the MA and BA in Studio Art programs.

View the digital collection

Petteys Collection of Women Artists

The Petteys Collection of Women Artists consists of fifty works by nineteenth and twentieth century artists including Mary Cassatt, Käthe Kollwitz, Elizabeth Catlett, Louise Nevelson, and Claude Raguet Hirst among others. It is a stylistically diverse and wide ranging collection that encompasses drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, and photography.

Beginning in the 1970s, Chris Petteys established herself as an authority on women artists. With the support of her husband Robert she acquired art and conducted extensive research, publishing a Dictionary of Women Artists Before 1900 (1986). The Dictionary was notable as the first attempt at such a comprehensive project since Clara Erskine Clement’s 1904 volume Women in the Fine Arts, and for the fact that she researched and wrote the book from her home in Sterling, Colorado. Petteys also served as a founding member of the National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) in Washington D.C.

The Petteys Collection of Women Artists is held in Special Collections Michener Library, along with her papers with include her notes and materials for the Dictionary of Women Artists Before 1900.

—Dr. Kiki Gilderhus

How to Visit: Archives & Special Collections is located on the lower level of Michener Library. Contact UNC Libraries to learn about Archives & Special Collections hours or to schedule an appointment.