11/08/21

AMES, Iowa — Christopher Yanulis, an Iowa State University graduate student in integrated visual arts, will share the development of his artistic process — and how the study of influential artists and an examination of personal history and beliefs has helped shape that process — in his master of fine arts thesis exhibition Nov. 13–19 at Reliable Street Gallery, 4625 Reliable St. in northwest Ames.

Hours and reception

“Thinking Out Loud” will open with a reception from 7–9 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 13, and include brief remarks by Yanulis. Food will be served, and beverages will be available for purchase from the Art Bar. The show may be viewed from 8 a.m.–3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 14, and Tuesday–Friday, Nov. 16–19. Masks are required inside the gallery.

The creative awakening Yanulis shares in the exhibition “has opened [me] to a new way of viewing the world through the lens of collage” and led him to the bold statement “everything is collage,” he says in his artist’s statement.

“To truly acknowledge this idea as a reality of living and working as an artist, one must [accept] that though we make connections with those around us, we are profoundly on our own in our physical viewing of the world,” Yanulis aid. “‘Thinking Out Loud’ explores this as both a physical process regarding making the work contained in the thesis exhibition as well as a philosophical view of how we as humans see and interact in the world every day.”

About the artist

Yanulis, originally from Annapolis, Maryland, and now of Ames, studied visual communications and illustration at Towson University in Maryland in the mid-1980s before the opportunity to join a band, release a record and travel the country set him on a path as a composer, producer and musician for the next 30 years. He has released seven albums with his wife, Amelia Drake, with whom he recorded and performed as the duo Drakes Hotel and later The Vividels, and four solo albums under the names The Candelions and The Heart Wants.

Yanulis returned to college and received a bachelor of arts in interdisciplinary design from Iowa State in 2018. While working toward his master’s degree, he has served as a graduate teaching assistant and instructor of record for the Design Studies 131 introductory drawing course. He participated in the “20 Artists, 20 Parks” project celebrating the 100th anniversary of Iowa’s state parks in 2020.

He will receive a master of fine arts in integrated visual arts from ISU in December and join the faculty of the Department of Art and Visual Culture as a lecturer in January to teach DSN S 131.

Contacts

Christopher Yanulis, Integrated Visual Arts, cyanulis@iastate.edu
Heather Sauer, Design Communications, 515-294-9289, hsauer@iastate.edu

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