None of It's True, All of It's Real
USU Alum Tiana Godfrey Conveys a Sense of Magic and Shared Perspectives through Her Paintings at Gallery East
Price-USU alum and art educator, Tiana Godfrey, will be on view at Gallery East from March 3 through April 17. The exhibition, entitled “None of It’s True, All of It’s Real,” represents a series of paintings that reflect shared perspectives and encounters with what she calls “normal magic.”
A graduate of USU’s Art + Design program, Godfrey is known for her abstract realism in oil painting. When she discusses her creative process, she often offers the reasons why she picks subjects that speak to people who are tied to the land or rural communities like where she’s from.
Godfrey's work centers on images and thought pictures formed by shared histories, relatable perspectives, and familiar encounters with magic.
“Depending on who's asking, I have lots of reasons I’ll give for why I make art and what kind of art I make. Sometimes I’ll explain I prefer making art that is accessible to the rural community I was born into,” she reasons. “If the person is someone who also spends a lot of time making their own art, I’ll often tell them how I like to play with perspective: their perspective, my perspective, shared perspective—perspective is the only reality, weird.”
“Probably the explanation I find myself giving and others accepting most easily is the ‘magic is normal’ one,” she explains. “For some reason, it’s very common for people to repeat this back to me like, ‘Oh, magic is real.’ No. Magic is normal. I specify the normal part, and then we generally get into a conversation about what magic means.”
The magic Godfrey speaks of is something she feels everyone can relate to. “People seem very willing to agree that there is something kind of magic about this world that we’re in, even if they’re uncomfortable admitting it, and when I discuss normal magic, the magic that anyone might sometimes come into contact with in a parking lot or in a waiting room, there’s never much of an explanation beyond that.”
“Despite the impossible vagueness of the words ‘normal magic,’ the meaning does seem to be comprehended. I paint normal magic,” she says.
Tiana Godfrey received her MFA from Montana State University and her BFA from Utah State University, where she is currently an adjunct professor of drawing and painting.
The exhibit, “None of It’s True, All of It’s Real,” will be on view from March 3 through April 17 at Gallery East in the Central Instruction Building on the campus of Utah State University Eastern. A closing reception is scheduled for April 17, from 6:00-8:00 pm.
Exhibits at Gallery East are free and open to the public during the academic year from 9:00-5:00 pm and closed on weekends and holidays.
Contact Noel Carmack at (435) 613-5241 or email noel.carmack@usu.edu for any questions about the exhibit.