Press Release
The work of two visual artists, Laura Lee Bradshaw and Jody Gerber, will be shown during the month of March at Gallery East. The exhibition, entitled “Quiet Spaces,” will feature Bradshaw and Gerber’s paintings, drawings and sculpture from Feb. 28 through March 31 in the gallery, which is located in the Central Instruction Building on the campus of Utah State University Eastern.
Laura Lee Stay Bradshaw specializes in figurative sculpture. She holds a Master of Fine Arts Degree from Brigham Young University and lives in Saratoga Springs, Utah.
Themes of celebration and joy run through her work. Her sculptures enhance space, i.e., gardens, public plazas and water features. Making the world a more beautiful place to live is her goal. Notable works include a sculpture of Martha Hughes Cannon, an eight-foot bronze monument at the Utah State Capitol; Celebration of Healing, an 18-foot bronze in Monroe, Louisiana; and portrait busts of Presidents Gordon B. Hinckley and Howard W. Hunter in the Conference Center at Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah.
“My work originates from my being human; I enjoy making art that represents the human condition and tells a story about humanity,” she said.
Bradshaw works directly from live models and takes all of her reference from the figure. She alters proportions or exaggerates gestures as she is inspired from the model’s body and pose.
“During the creative process, I work half of the time with a model and the other half is working in solitude. Usually, I chose to impose some kind of universal theme, such as celebration, human dignity or passage of time. The content is never defined in the beginning; often, the direction is discovered during the process.”
Jody Gerber is a fine artist and currently resides in the middle of Utah’s high desert country, Emery County. She received a Master of Fine Arts in Painting at Laguna College of Art + Design in Laguna Beach, California. She is a national award-winning artist and is involved in the Portrait Society of America, Oil Painters of America and Laguna Plein Air Painters Association.
Gerber is passionate about art. Creativity and imagination started when she was young and continued. As an undergraduate, Jody did a study abroad in Rome, Italy. This solidified her love of art and desire to continuously study, which has impacted her work’s process, content and direction. It is her intent to capture a feeling and convey a mood through her paintings. Gerber is heavily influenced by the Realism Movement of the 19th century. Some of her favorite artists include William Bouguereau, Rosa Bonheur, Joaquin Sorolla and Ivan Kramskoi.
“The human figure is an ongoing focus,” she said. “Studying this complex subject matter teaches me to see angles and colors that I did not notice previously. As the features of each human vary, so does their soul. My job is to decipher that feeling and transform it into a painting. Using figurative realism, I portray the subject organically, leaving the interpretation up to the viewer based on their own experiences. For me, using painting as a language is a meaningful way to communicate a message.”
“Quiet Spaces” will be on view through March 31. Bradshaw and Gerber will be at Gallery East for a reception and gallery talk on Friday, March 3, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Students, faculty, staff and the public are invited. The gallery is located in the Central Instruction Building.
The gallery is free and open to the public during the academic year. Gallery East’s Spring 2023 hours are Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed weekends and holidays.
For questions, contact Noel Carmack by phone at (435) 613-5241 or by email at noel.carmack@usu.edu.
