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Tribute to UB art grad to open in gallery
By KRISTIN RIEMER
Reporter Contributor
"Christine Marie Taber 1968-2000," a tribute to UB graduate Christine Taber, who was killed in a traffic accident immediately following her first major solo exhibition in 2000, will open with a reception from 5-8 p.m. Feb. 14 in the Second Floor Gallery of the UB Art Gallery in the Center for the Arts, North Campus.
The exhibition, curated by David H. Schirm, associate professor of art who taught Taber while she was at UB, will close on March 15.
"The work is of an accomplished artist, and Christine was a person not to be forgotten," says Schirm. "That her life was short does not belittle the quality of her work or the impact of her personality on those who knew her."
Christine Marie Taber, Send Off, 2000, oil on canvas, collection of John and Cathy Frederick
Taber's early paintings were "alive with color and were created with the 'touch' of an artist, a natural gift you look for in a student," recalls Schirm. "The last works I remember seeing before she left UB were alive with lush fields of incredibly intense color. I thought that if she could hook all this up with a more specific link to content, she would find herself at a new beginning to her discoveries. It was satisfying to see that the work at her first professional showing had fulfilled those expectations."
Schirm says the last time he saw Taber was just before she left for California to begin graduate studies at the University of Southern California.
He recalls he later was "stunned" to see how Taber's work had been affected by her studies in Los Angeles. "Who would have guessed all of her luscious color would leave her paintings?" he asks, noting that he was not being critical but rather reflecting on an important development in her work.
"It was the same Chris in the handling of the paint, but these paintings seemed to touch a different part of her personality," he says, pointing out that they expressed a desire to slow down movement in an environment that was moving too quickly. "In a sense, (her paintings) are photographs frozen, the color removed so that we can reconsider the speed of our lives and the temporary nature of all this stuff whizzing around us."
Born in Litchfield, Conn., in 1968, Taber attended UB from 1987-91, where she graduated cum laude. While at UB, she was the recipient of several art department awards, including the Rumsey Fellowship and the Elliot Award for Painting. She also was chosen to represent UB in the Inter-University Print Exchange.
She attended USC from 1993-95, earning an MFA in painting in 1995. Her work has appeared in New American Paintings and is represented in numerous private and corporate collections.
The UB Art Gallery is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. For more information, call 645-6912.