uncnews.unc.edu

Oliver Herring, an experimental artist whose works include knitted Mylar, participatory performances, video and Styrofoam photo sculptures, will discuss his work Nov. 17 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Herring, the spring 2010 artist-in-residence in the art department in UNC’s College of Arts and Sciences, will deliver a free public lecture at 5:30 p.m. in the Hanes Center Auditorium.

Herring creates his art by transforming basic elements into more complex and captivating works. He uses various media and techniques, making works that can be humorous yet disconcerting.

Born in Germany in 1964, Herring earned a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from the University of Oxford in 1988. He then moved to New York, where he received a master’s in fine arts at Hunter College in 1991.

In the spring, Herring will present what he calls an improvisational task event at UNC. In a typical task event, participants interpret and perform tasks written on slips of paper drawn at random. Once finished, they write a new task for others and draw a new task for themselves. Spectators are invited to watch the event.

Herring’s work has been shown at museums including the Museum of Modern Art, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C.

Image: http://uncnews.unc.edu/images/stories/news/arts/2009/herring_dayglowman06.jpg

Caption: “Alex” by Oliver Herring, 2009, digital c-print photographs, museum board, foam core and polystyrene

Art department contact: John Bowles, (919) 962-0728, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it