Five faculty members of the University of the Ozarks’ art department have joined forces to present a faculty art exhibit to kick of the University’s 2026-27 Artist of the Month Series.
The exhibit will run through Sept. 23 in the Stephens Gallery, located in the Walton Fine Arts Center. There will be a reception to meet the artists from 5-6 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 22, in the gallery.
The exhibit will feature Tammy Harrington, professor of art (pictured, center); Margo Duvall, associate professor of art (pictured, right); Todd Goehner, associate professor of art (pictured, left); Soyoon Ah, adjunct professor of art (not pictured); and Ashley Kinsey, adjunct professor of art (not pictured).
Harrington is a printmaker and paper cut artist that imbues the cross-cultural influences of Chinese and American culture into figurative compositions to create an ephemeral space, in a place between reality and the mystical. She received the University’s Bagwell Outstanding Faculty Award in 2013 and 2018.
“My artwork is influenced by the Chinese folk art of paper cut,” Harrington said. “The crisp graphic appearance of paper cut appeals to my sensibility as a printmaker. This work is a blending of my interpretations of traditional Chinese designs into personalized figurative compositions. Initially in the print work, the paper cut designs appeared as textures and patterns that melded with the figure. I took the next step and actually cut into the paper and printed surface. The combination of the paper cut with other media shifts the idea of space to be both dimensional and flat. The use of pattern (printed and cut out) depicts the figure as it exists in an ephemeral state, in a place between reality and the mystical. The delicate lines merge with bold shapes and color to create visual movement and vibration. The combination and interaction of the layers of paper cuts create complex and unpredictable visual space and depth. “
Duvall is an artist, photographer, and educator based in Little Rock. Prior to joining Ozarks, she served as associate professor of art and gallery director at Henderson State University. Her practice explores photography’s role in shaping memory, identity, family histories, and the archive through analog photographs, cyanotype, mixed media, and installation.
“These photographs trace the fleeting moments that shape childhood and family life,” Duvall said. “I am drawn to the way summer light falls across quiet gestures, lakes, rivers, and landscapes of the South. I am interested in how photographs freeze moments in time, preserving the innocence and freedom of childhood even as memory transforms them into fragments. This work reflects my ongoing interest in how place and personal history become intertwined, and how ordinary experiences accumulate meaning over time.”
Goehner has spent nearly three decades moving between the classroom and the studio, and has taught graphic design at the college level for more than 20 years, including stints as a MFA program director. Outside academia, he’s spent just as much time building things: he ran creative and marketing for Bad Dog Beanery for nearly six years and still takes on design projects with small businesses, individuals, and non-profits.
Goehner’s art centers on what he calls a Biblical Advice Series.
“Scripture wasn’t meant to sit on a shelf collecting dust,” he said. “A new study by the American Bible Society (ABS) ‘finds that reading the Bible has better self-care outcomes than exercising, meditating, or even spending time with friends.’ My Biblical Advice Series encourages the viewer to do just that. I present eight lesser-known, and surprising, stories from the Bible and translate them into memes—not something you’d expect to find pointing you toward Scripture. The goal is simple—encourage people to be curious about the Bible, to open it, and to actually read the stories in it.”
Ahn is a potter, painter, and educator based in Russellville. She teaches ceramics at U of O and also teaches drawing and 2D design as an adjunct professor of art at Arkansas Tech University. She was born and raised in Seoul, Korea, and her artistic work draws inspiration from Korean folk art, “Minwha.”
“My artistic practice is centered on the movement of ‘modernizing tradition,’ ” she said. “I am deeply intrigued by how ancient techniques, such as traditional Korean pottery, can be reimagined through a contemporary lens to speak to the future. In this exhibition, I present pyongbyeong (flat bottles), a vessel type traditionally used for liquor during the Joseon Dynasty (15th Century). While rooted in historical utility, these forms possess a striking, inherent minimalism that feels remarkably modern.”
Kinsey teaches design, figure drawing, and art history courses at U of O and Arkansas Tech. Her fine art concentration focuses on the anatomy of the human figure in charcoal and graphite, and she also uses watercolor and fiber art to create mixed-media works.
“My art focuses on the human form, anatomy, and architecture,” Kinsey said. “Subject matter and references come from personal photography and an engineering geometry formula book from the 1950s. I have always gravitated toward different architectural styles’ linear elements and angles, and I enjoy exploring the relationships between engineering, mathematics, and the visual arts. My goal with these pieces is to evoke a reaction within the viewer that forces their thoughts to question the purpose of the drawing. I hope my pieces will open some kind of internal, creative door that enables the viewer to think about something they haven’t before they viewed my art. I want the viewer to wonder why I chose the angles, the enlargement of a certain body part, or why I distorted or dissected a certain area or section.”
Topics: Art, Faculty Spotlights