An opening reception for its newest show Amalgam took place Tuesday at Birke Art Gallery.

Amalgam art is that which uses a mixture of elements. It fuses independent objects, mediums or substances to create a separate piece of art. The exhibit is the first in a series of shows based off of the art foundations program courses.

Each show will make its main theme based around the core principles taught in each of the foundation courses for freshman and sophomore art and design students.

Megan Schultz, director of Birke Art Gallery, said she wanted to make sure a variety of art was available.

“We have almost every format represented,” Schultz said. “We have everything from photographs to sculptures to prints. It was our main goal to represent as many types of art as we possibly could.”

Brianna Jarvis, sophomore graphic design student, attended the gallery exhibit and said Amalgam work has really affected and influenced her this year.

“In my sophomore review, Amalgam work is a main focus,” Jarvis said. “It’s cool to see work based on that since I have to make my own gallery for my review.”

Schultz said she also tried to get a large number of artists to contribute work and add regional diversity.

“We have artists from numerous places,” Schultz said. “We have artists all the way from Indiana and Georgia to local people from right here in West Virginia. Many of the artists were invited by the faculty or workers in the gallery and then were narrowed down to the work we have here today.”

According to the exhibition statement, the aim for the series is to provide physical examples of the core principles so students and the community will have a deeper knowledge of Amalgam work.

The exhibit is open to the public 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday and noon to 4 p.m. Friday until Feb. 18 at Birke Art Gallery.

Kaitlyn Clay can be contacted at [email protected].