Opening this Friday, A Common Thread.

September marked CU’s grand opening of their new 180,000 square foot, 63.5 million dollar, Visual Arts Complex.

The new CU Art Museum and Visual Arts Complex designed by Kallmann McKinnell & Wood Architects (KMW) in association with OZ Architecture. Image courtesy of Kallmann McKinnell & Wood Architects. Photo by Robert Benson.

This Friday, November 5, viewers can check out what the students are actually up in this new amazing space at the Fall MFA Thesis Exhibition, featuring three remarkable artists.

Here’s a preview of what to expect.

Helene Baribeau (printmaking)

Helene Baribeau mines vernacular archives of family photographs to weave personal narrative and explores how memory is anchored to the idea of social, cultural, and geographic place. Her work embraces the duality that photographs reveal yet also conceal. Using thread, tea and various natural materials, she coaxes the images into revealing the effects of time and the ephemeral nature of remembrance.

Helene Baribeau; Matilda Longpré, Mariette, Jeannine, St Roch, 1920, 2010; paper, thread, tea, photography/print; Photo courtesy of the artist; Copyright the artist.

Jonathan Nicklow (printmaking)

Jonathan Nicklow’s art crosses a variety of mediums and artistic categories. His current work is based on his visual fairy tale titled “The Rabbit Who Married The Bear.” Jonathan utilizes printmaking, painting and drawing, film, photography, ceramics, fiber arts, hand and machine stitching, sound art, installation, and his own body to make bold statements and lasting impressions.

Jonathan Nicklow; The Bear Cycle, detail from installation, 2010; mixed media; Photo courtesy of the artist; Copyright the artist.

Lindsay Pichaske (ceramics)

Lindsay Pichaske creates figurative sculptures and installations that reside in the space between what is familiar and strange, beautiful and repugnant, alive and dead. Her “animals” suggest a surreal world where surfaces and forms are not always what they seem. Artificial flower petals mimic fur and human hair articulates inner musculature. In this world, species distinctions are blurred, as the animal becomes human, and the human becomes animal.

Lindsay Pichaske, Preparations, 2010; mixed media installation; Photo courtesy of the artist; Copyright the artist.

The CU Art Museum and the Department of Art & Art History present A Common Thread.

The Fall MFA 2010 Thesis Exhibition, held in the Projects Gallery of the new CU Art Museum building, part of the Visual Arts Complex on the University of Colorado at Boulder campus.

Exhibition dates: November 6-18, 2010

Opening Reception: Friday, November 5, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Museum hours: Monday-Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturday 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.

University of Colorado at Boulder 318 UCB, Visual Arts Complex (VAC) Boulder, CO 80309 303-492-8003 (phone)