“Multiplicity” at the Rowe Galleries, UNCC.

University of North Carolina Charlotte alumni, Daniel Allegrucci, Austin Ballard, Leigh Brinkley, Lorraine Turi, Banks Wilson and the duo Lilya Zalevskaya and David Scott Sackett, have returned to their alma mater for an art showcase. These seven artist have embarked on vastly different trajectories and explored varied media since leaving UNCC, but the University was a pivotal stepping-stone in each of their careers. The showcase titled “Multiplicity” will be on view until September 20th.

As a showcase, “Multiplicity,” does not have one central theme or message running through the art works, but the title takes inspiration from French philosopher Gilles Deleuze’s concept of multiplicity. For Deleuze “multiplicity has neither beginning nor end, origin nor destination; rather, one is always in the middle of, amidst, in-between, that is, in a state of becoming,” explains Jae Emerling, UNCC Associate Professor of Art History. “This constant state of becoming portrays the life of an artist and the process of creation.”

Daniel Allegrucci, “Explosion 16BYPPG,” woodcut print, 2012.

The artworks in “Multiplicity” range from Allegrucci’s vibrant woodblock prints and animations, which meld pop culture with technology, to Turi’s haunting photographs of contemporary American workers. Ballard’s sculptural pieces explore objects’ relation to western domesticity, while Zalevskaya and Sackett’s mixed-media collaborations ponder the gap between reality and perception.

Lorraine Turi, “Last Stand,” photography, inkjet print, 2013.

The artists featured in “Multiplicity” will return to UNCC on September 13 for a panel discussion and reception. The panel starts at 4:15 p.m. and the reception starts at 5 p.m. “Multiplicity” is on view in the Rowe Galleries, which is in the Rowe Arts Building on UNCC’s main campus at 9201 University City Boulevard.