UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — “Under Pressure,” a participatory experimental art installation featuring the work of Ryan Kough, will open on Feb. 15 and run through August at the Woskob Family Gallery in downtown State College.
An opening reception with the artist will be held at the gallery on Feb. 15 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. After the opening reception, the gallery will be open Fridays, 12:30–5 p.m.
Kough is a neurodivergent artist, experimental letterpress printmaker and design educator who focuses on participatory community-driven social design initiatives. She is an associate professor of integrated media arts at Juniata College and has taught at Purdue University and Penn State.
“Under Pressure” centers on the abandonment of normalcy, reimagining new perspectives and embracing new forms of both being and making.
In honoring the power of creativity and community, the installation brings together work facilitated through non-prescriptive ways of making, unfastened from expectations and polished outcomes.
By collecting and incorporating overlooked byproducts of our consumeristic world, new meaning is created through graphic configuration. Reframing artistic expression as a mental health outlet, slow creative practices encourage decentering from daily tasks to bring involuntary joy and therapeutic creative relief.
The outcomes are a series of captured daydreams showcasing the creative mind in physical format.
Through her work, Kough facilitates spaces where participants can play through artistic experimentation and meditative processes with intentional compassion and empathy toward positive creative outlets for those participating.
Kough holds a BFA in Graphic Design from the Savannah College of Art and Design and an MFA in Visual Communications Design from Purdue University. Her current academic research focuses on designing a sense of community among neurodiverse and neurotypical students in academia.
Classes, student organizations, and university offices are encouraged to visit the Woskob Family Gallery, a unit of the College of Arts and Architecture. Inquiries can be directed to zzn24@psu.edu. For more information on this and other exhibitions, visit the gallery’s website. Keep up to date with the Woskob Family Gallery by signing up for its Listserv or following on Instagram @woskobfamilygallery.