Northcutt Steele Gallery

October 11 through November 8, 2012
Artist Reception: Thursday, October 11, 5:00pm–7:00pm (Free and Open to the Public)

MSUB Department of Art’s Northcutt Steele Gallery features the work of ceramic artist Benjie Heu from October 11 through November 8. This solo exhibition, entitled “Story Time,” highlights Heu’s technical mastery and imaginative scope in a series of fanciful wall pieces and free-standing sculptures arranged in narrative vignettes. The exhibition is Heu’s first solo show in Montana.

Heu is Professor of Ceramics at Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau. He has an active exhibition record of solo, group, juried and invitational exhibitions and his work is included in a number of private and institutional collections across the nation. He received his MFA from Ohio University in 1998. During his short-term residency, Heu will present an artist workshop for MSUB students introducing them to his techniques and conceptual approach.

Heu explores the nature of personal identity in a twenty-first century visual culture littered with avatars and anti-heroes occupying a digital landscape beyond the traditional, lived horizon. Creating work with this reality as a backdrop, Heu fabricates an alternate persona in three-dimensions—a “hero” who battles the obstacles and limits of contemporary existence. His “hero” races against time and aging, fights the frustrations of real, embodied relationships, and attempts to remedy the inevitable losses of what is cherished. Resembling scarred and marred toys, Heu’s figures journey across a post-apocalyptic landscape seeking truth and enlightenment. While his installations contain an element of horror and absurdity, his work is filled with a healthy dose of humor and expresses a tender empathy for our shared human plights, hopes, dreams, and desires.

An artist reception will be held on Thursday October 11 beginning at 5pm. Heu will also offer a lecture on his work on Thursday October 11 in Room 205 of the Liberal Arts Building on the MSUB campus at 4pm. The lecture, reception, and exhibition are all free and open to the public.

The Nothcutt Steele Gallery is located on the 1st floor of the Liberal Arts Building on the MSUB campus and is open Monday–Friday from 8am to 5pm. For more information visit: www.msubillings.edu/gallery and www.facebook.com/northcuttsteelegallery.

Image Caption: Benjie Heu, My Little Girl, Cone 6 Stoneware with Glaze (wall mounted), 22” x 10” x 8”, 2011.

  See additional images from exhibit

   Ceramic Artist Benjie Heu Completes Short-Term Residency at Montana State University Billings