Tuesday, January 29, 2002

WILMINGTON, NC – “Very Large Spirit,” an exhibit of oil paintings by Florida artist Alison Spiesman, will be displayed Tuesday, Feb. 5, though Monday, April 22, in the UNC Wilmington Warwick Center Gallery. This showing is part of the UNCW University Union Art Exhibit Series, sponsored by the Campus Activities and Involvement Center. A reception and artist presentation is scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 7, at the gallery which is in the Warwick Center lobby. Both the exhibit and reception are free and open to the public.

According to Spiesman, “Very Large Spirit,” represents a feminine journey. “My work has evolved from my own life’s experiences as a woman and an artist,” said Spiesman. “I describe the space they come from as . . . a place where I find conflict with contemporary representations of woman, and I explore personal tribulations unique to women.”

Spiesman has exhibited worldwide including at the Purlcheria Arte festival “Celebration of Women” in Piacenza, Italy. Her work was selected for the inaugural Southeastern Juried Exhibit in Asheville in 2001 and was featured in the two-woman exhibit “The Feminine Journey” at the Atlantic Center for the Arts.

A professional artist who resides in Cocoa Beach, Fla., Spiesman attended ECU and completed a Master of Fine Arts degree at Bob Jones University. She is a member of WomanMade Gallery in Chicago, the National Museum of Women in the Arts and Babele Arte world artists.

For more information about Alison Spiesman, visit the Web site www.spiesmanart.com. For information about the University Union Art Exhibit Series, contact Shannon Hooker at 910/962-7600 or go to the Web site www.uncwil.edu/stuaff/arts. The Warwick Center Gallery is open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 11 p.m. Sunday.