Above: “Clay Bodies,” a more-than-1,000-piece installation by Dylan Karges at Mississippi State University’s Cobb Institute of Archaeology. Karges’ work is on display in the Visual Arts Center Gallery at MGCCC’s Perkinston Campus until June 19.
An exhibition by artist Dylan Karges opened at the Visual Arts Center Gallery on Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College’s Perkinston Campus on April 13. The exhibit, “Trial and Error,” will be on display through June 19.
Karges, an artist with the Cobb Institute of Archaeology at Mississippi State University, has works ranging from pastel landscapes to nonobjective, nonfunctional ceramic sculpture, to abstract drawings, to a ceramic sculptural installation of more than 1,000 individual figurines. A native of Pisgah, Karges received his B.F.A. from MSU. Karges began working at the Cobb in 1998 as a student doing technical illustration work for both the Near Eastern and North American research programs. In September 2004 he assumed a full time staff position, with responsibilities including management of the Institute’s graphics lab and support of the Lois Dowdle Cobb Museum exhibit program.
Karges has had wide experience as a studio artist, sculptor and exhibitor and has participated in management and curation programs with several galleries. His ceramic creations and other artwork have been displayed in many local and regional galleries.
He provided art direction for “Isaquena,” an independent film project, and designed, painted or installed a number of large-scale public art displays in cities throughout the region including Okolona, Columbus and Macon. He also participated as a field illustrator for the Lahav Research Project’s excavations at Tell Halif, Israel and traveled to Israel to work on object illustrations for the Tell Gezer Project.
Karges’ art has appeared in several solo and group exhibitions, including “Clay Bodies,” an installation which investigates individual longing and belonging while questioning place and personal isolation, and incorporates a spirit of community and imagery taken from religion and the desert.
The “Trial and Error” exhibition is free and open to the public. Gallery hours are 8 a.m. – 3 p.m. Monday thru Thursday and 8 a.m. – noon on Friday. For more information about the exhibition, contact Sandra Cassibry at (601) 928-6298 or sandra.cassibry@mgccc.edu.