An 11-foot-tall array of black, fluted steel columns and arches fills a room at TXST Galleries.

Cast classical fragments, laboratory glass, bronze botanical forms and flexible metal conduits formed into various hybrids to decorate the columns. As visitors wandered between the columns on Jan. 20, they were immersed in the environment, presented with the question of preserving and defining nature amid human intervention.

The large metal installation, “At the Edge of Paradise,” is part of the solo exhibition “Foregrounding Paradise,” which features the work of Beverly Penn, Distinguished Professor Emerita of Texas State University. Through “Foregrounding Paradise” and the group exhibition “Deeply Routed,” they showcase the creativity and community forged through metalsmithing, the practice of transforming metal to create objects.

Penn recently retired from teaching and was a faculty advisor for the TXST Metals program, the university’s metals guild, for 25 years. Nicole DesChamps-Benke, professor of instruction, said “Deeply Routed” would bring together current and former TXST Metals members.

“[TXST Metals] wanted to do an exhibition in tandem with [Penn],” DesChamps-Benke said. “The people in this exhibition here have either all taught at one time for Texas State, are currently teaching or are alumni from that program.”

“Foregrounding Paradise”

“Foregrounding Paradise” celebrates 30 years of Penn and her time as a foundational figure of contemporary metalsmithing. Her displayed work portrays her continuous inquiry regarding the tensions between the natural world and culture, existing in a space between idealizing and modifying the natural environment.

Penn said she started as a painter but felt it was not as inspiring as the challenge of working with metal. To her, metal has a lot of inherent character, making it equal to the artist. She said metal has technical challenges, forcing an artist to think with both sides of their brain to plan steps.

“It’s not just an expression,” Penn said. “You have tools that intervene always between you and the material, and understanding what those tools do and how they work best makes it a much richer experience in terms of creating. It’s always fascinating.”

Smaller, mainly bronze works accompany the large installation, representing Penn’s different art series. According to TXST Galleries curator Dr. Sarah E. Kleinman, these either serve “as a visual critique of the human impulse to categorize, label and impose order on the natural world,” or “to record cyclical and seasonal patterns of botanical growth.”

“Deeply Routed”

Organized by DesChamps-Benke and Associate Professor of Instruction Laritza Janiga, “Deeply Routed” showcases the materials and techniques used to create unique accessories, sculptures and wall decorations.

DesChamps-Benke’s pieces are cameo silhouettes inspired by cameo jewelry, relief carvings of people, places, animals or plants. To create some of them, such as “Self-Reflection” and “Ruth Bader Ginsburg: In Concurrence,” she hand-forms the wide metal wires by soldering individual pieces from a printed photo or drawing used as a redrawn template.

“People want [personal portraits] because it’s important to them they’re feeling the same way I do: Embrace who you are and live in the moment,” DesChamps-Benke said. “The other ones just came along because I was watching how that affected other people, so it was influencing how I was thinking about the portraits.”

Shalena White, metals alumna, created “Geological Alchemy” by finding rocks and remnants and questioning if there is value in what she considered everyday materials. She combined them with various metals to make them elevated and revered, arranging them in a Fibonacci pattern to connect to the botanical world and allude to the passage of time.

“That’s something that’s much faster you can see with plants and their growth, but with the changing of rocks and the way they’re shaped by earth and water, that’s something that takes a lot longer, and we don’t see it,” White said.

Seeing the works of her former students, Penn said the reason she taught at Texas State for so long was because of her love for her students, despite being eligible to retire a decade ago.

“[The students] know how to apply their skillsets to things, they know how to think, they know how to build community with one another because it’s such a big university,” Penn said. “But people find their niche and then build this really collaborative, supportive environment, especially here because the students are not just taking classes and going home.”

TXST Metals

Penn said she did not start the TXST Metals program but took over after the previous professor retired. Founded in 1994, TXST Metals grew into an internationally recognized program known for its experimental approach to metalsmithing and interdisciplinary teaching under her leadership.

One example Penn gave was how, despite teaching traditional skills, she infused her metalsmithing assignments with a very conceptual approach. This results in distinct work, all made using the same material and method.

“When I first got here 35 years ago … [students would] make a ring, and all their rings looked the same,” Penn said. “This infusion of assignments with a conceptual entry point allows this method of teaching to be more individual and filled with self-expression for each student.”

“Foregrounding Paradise” will remain in Galleries 1 and 2 of TXST Galleries of the Joann Cole Mitte building until March 6. “Deeply Routed” will remain in the FL3X Gallery until Feb. 8.