New UCM exhibit ‘extends the definition of painting’

Published 9:38 pm Thursday, October 8, 2026

WARRENSBURG — “Protruding Pigments” is a newly opened exhibit by Sammie Jane Hardewig, of Marquette, Michigan, created with “paint skins,” or dried latex paint, and focusing on the beauty of failure and vulnerability.

Jamie Platt, director of the University of Central Missouri Gallery of Art & Design in Warrensburg, said Hardewig attended the University of Nebraska for her undergraduate work and the University of Kansas, where she received an MFA in visual arts. 

Platt added Hardewig is a painter but her current exhibition “extends the definition of painting,” because it mostly features three-dimensional work. 

“One of the things that’s interesting about this work is that she thinks of it as painting,” Platt said

In her artist statement, Hardewig explains her three-dimensional work. 

“House paint was fabricated as a topcoat to cover, protect, and elevate surfaces around us, but it can also exist independently and three-dimensionally,” Hardewig wrote. “By applying it to plastic then peeling it away once dry, a flexible, fabric-like skin is formed.”

With this painted skin, Hardewig creates and designs her sculptures, along with balloons, steel, foam clay, and sometimes cement. She pours paint onto surfaces like balloons, plastic sheeting, and sometimes screens. Hardewig lets the paint dry, then peels it away from the surface. The sculptures she creates are sometimes what she calls a failure.

Platt noted that Hardewig is interested in how the works fail as much as they succeed.

“This works because it’s made of a material that stretches; it’s subject to gravitational forces,” Platt said. “And sometimes it fails altogether. There is one piece in the gallery right now that is gradually getting closer and closer to the floor.”

If a piece fails, Hardewig often redesigns it into another sculpture or what she calls a “reliquary.”

“Creating a reliquary gives it a more elevated stature,” Platt said. “Because she doesn’t think of failure as a bad thing. “A lot of Sammie’s work incorporates and is based on balloon architecture. She uses balloons as the basis for a lot of the pieces. The balloons sometimes are partially removed and sometimes remain part of the pieces.”

The balloons give the pieces structure, but they also collapse as the pieces dry. Platt said Hardewig describes the work as “paint mache.”

Hardewig describes the method as, “a process that reimagines papier-mâché by replacing the paper with a thin, dried piece of paint and the adhesive with wet paint.” She added she creates sculptures and installations by exploring the paint’s ability to take up space. 

Hardewig is interested in art history, and feminist artist Eva Hesse influences her work. Hesse was a sculptor, and much of her work was made out of building and construction materials.

“And it has suffered over time,” Platt said. “It wasn’t meant to be archival … Sammie’s work is not archival either. And she doesn’t worry about failure — she also doesn’t worry about the work lasting forever.” 

Another 20th-century feminist artist, Louise Bourgeois, also influenced Hardewig’s work. Bourgeois did many things, but she was known for creating large spiders about mothers and her own mother. So, among Hardewig’s work, one will see spider shapes as well. 

Platt said Hardewig didn’t plan to become an artist when she began college.

“She was a competitive swimmer in high school, and then she went to college for swimming,” Platt said. “She says that she would have never started making this work if she hadn’t gone to Nebraska for undergrad.” 

Hardewig was working on a project when she got perplexed, and a teacher’s assistant told her to try using dried paint. 

“She tried it, and she was hooked,” Platt said. “She didn’t know she was going to go to school for art; originally, she was going to go to school for nutrition science. When she got to Nebraska, she was there to be on the swim team.” 

As Hardewig planned her courses, she found no art classes.

“So, she talked to her family, and they said you can major in art,” Platt said. “And they were incredibly supportive, and they actually came out and helped her install (the current exhibit). She was here for a whole week, and they were here all week helping her.” 

“Protruding Pigments” will be exhibited through Monday, Nov. 2, at the UCM Gallery of Art & Design. Hardewig will present an artist talk at 4 p.m. on Nov. 2 at Lovinger 1290. A reception will follow from 5 to 6:30 p.m.

The UMC Gallery of Art & Design, 217 E. Clark St., is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. It is not open Friday, Oct. 9 due to fall break.

It has extended hours on Thursday until 8 p.m. It’s open from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday, for more information, call 660-543-4498.

Faith Bemiss-McKinney can be reached at faith_bemiss@yahoo.com.