Two artists, one place: Jim Jipson and Rebecca Zeiss will have their artwork featured at the Center for Visual Arts

Courtesy of Rebecca Zeiss

The above picture is from the gallery exhibit called “Residence of the Machinist.” Rebecca Zeiss’ new exhibit is called “Reverence and Irreverence” which will be on display from Jan. 20 to March 2.

Two artists will be featured by the University of Toledo’s department of art in the Center for the Visual Arts this spring semester.

Guest artists Jim Jipson and Rebecca Zeiss will both have an exhibit featured in the CVA. Jipson’s exhibit will be in the CVA Main Gallery from Jan. 22 until Feb. 23 and Zeiss’ exhibit will be in the CVA Clement Gallery from Jan. 20 until March 2.

There will also be an opening reception for Jipson’s artwork on Jan. 22 at 6 p.m. in the CVA Main Gallery. Jipson’s exhibit is titled “Chthonic.”

Jipson received his bachelor’s degree at Wayne State University and his master’s degree at Michigan State University.

Jipson’s artist’s statement said that his current work is all about chance, the interrelationship between all things, space and time. It also said that his work begins with a projector that he invented. The projector displays images of 3-D objects that move in both a repetitive and non-repetitive way.

Jipson said his father and grandfather were both commercial artists in Chicago and Detroit.

“I learned to draw at their studio in Detroit on weekends when I was very young,” Jipson said.

This is Jipson’s first time showing his artwork at UT and he said he is very excited for the opportunity.

“It has been years since I’ve shown in the Midwest,” he said.

According to Jipson, his exhibit is about chance and reality. He said it is also about finding the excitement of living every day with joy and love instead of fear and concern.

“I am very happy to share my work and my prototype projectors, but I am always way more excited to meet the students,” Jipson said. “They keep me young and energized.”

Zeiss is a graduate from the University of Michigan where she received her BFA in Painting and from Central Michigan University where she received her MFA in Photography.

The title of Zeiss’ exhibit is “Reverence and Irreverence.”

Zeiss said the title has to do with what the viewers understand from reading the images.

Zeiss said she has been an artist since grade school and because of that, she has a very diverse acquisition of processes at her disposal ranging from welding, ceramics, papermaking, printmaking, bookmaking, photography and drawing.

“This exhibit visits a variety of surfaces and formats, but all contain objects within the image,” said Zeiss. “The objects chosen often have cultural associations and always have history assigned or derived from them.”

She is a member of the Society for Photographic Education (SPE) in the Midwest region.

Zeiss said one of the amazing results of belonging to this group is having one-on-one networking that happens with and around portfolio sharing.

“I was fortunate to have the opportunity to meet and talk with Deborah Orloff from

Zeiss said she is especially excited about her newest platinum and palladium prints.

“This work has been an ongoing struggle over the course of three years to actually have the images print out with the look I had imagined for them,” she said.

According to Zeiss’ artist’s statement, the six images are conceived through a variety of camera formats and they “explore the objects through the lens with its infinite possibilities of what is revealed and/or concealed.”

It also said that she approached this project with no preconceptions or expectations of what the narrative would be, only an idea of how she would look for it.

“I am very much looking forward to the artist talk that will complement this work and sharing the process/journey of the work,” she said.

Both artists will hold an artist lecture in the CVA Haigh Auditorium. Jipson’s will be Jan. 22 at 12:30 p.m. and Zeiss’ will be March 2 at 1:30 p.m. Both exhibits are free and open to the public.