JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – MacMurray’s Khara Koffel, Assistant Professor of Art, will display her solo art exhibition at the University of Illinois of Springfield Art Gallery in Springfield, Illinois. The opening is set for November 5, 2009 and will run through November 25. A reception will be held on November 18 from 5:30 – 8 p.m. with an artist talk at 6 p.m.

“My current body of work is a process of recollection in which I create objects that retain familiar images which not only relate to my life, but hopefully to that of the viewer,” said Koffel. “My work evolves from visual stimuli, objects that I see which drag me into my own mind, reminding me of a time, place or person. These stimuli, as specific as a photo of a matronly woman or as obscure as a leaf of lettuce, force themselves into a conversation with my thoughts in an attempt to not only make an aesthetically intriguing piece, but a connection with the viewer as a stimulator of ideas and memories. This becomes quite the dance, finding symbols that both reflect my personal story yet remain vague enough to apply to a more collective past.”

            Koffel, who teaches classes that range from 3-D Design to Photography, began her faculty appointment at MacMurray College in 2004. She earned a Master of Fine Arts in sculpture from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa in 2003, where she taught as a professor of record for a number of years in the sculpture program. Her undergraduate work was completed at Juniata College, a liberal arts college in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Studio Arts and Art History.