The University of Alabama Department of Art and Art History kicks off the school year with an art exhibit showcasing four new talents in the Studio Arts Program.

The show, Incoming!, opens today in Sella-Granata Art Gallery and runs through Friday, Sept. 10. It will premiere Thursday with a reception for the artists and the public.

Sella-Granata Gallery is located in Woods Hall and its regular business hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The reception will be held from 6 – 8 p.m.

Incoming! showcases the work of Claire Lewis Evans, Anne Herbert, Darius Hill and Stephen Watson. The reception provides the opportunity to publicly view the art, speak to the artists and enjoy free food. All of the artists said they’re looking forward to seeing and hearing people’s reactions to their work.

“The reception will be a nice way to meet new people, see some art and see what’s going on in the Tuscaloosa community,” Evans said.

It will be the public’s chance to interact with the artists in order to learn about them and their work.

Watson said he hopes viewers let the art speak to them visually.

“Though the art is capable of standing on its own, the artists can help enlighten the viewers experience,” Watson said.

Herbert and Watson will both show paintings, while Evans is presenting sculptures, and Hill is showing mixed media pieces.

“The show will be very intriguing because we are totally different people from different backgrounds, but we are all coming together on a single gallery wall,” Watson said.

Hill’s inspiration has recently changed to exploring his African American heritage, he said.

Both Herbert and Evans pull inspiration from nature but use it in different ways. Herbert creates landscapes to convey human emotion, while Evans uses elements of nature as well as the physical aspect of sculpture in her pieces.

Watson’s inspiration is truth as shown in abstract paintings. Hill said it took a lot of careful planning to make the differences in the pieces come together in a coherent way.

“I’m enjoying the way everyone’s works together unexpectedly,” Herbert said.

Lily Watson, Stephen Watson’s wife, said, while they did work well together in the gallery, their contrasts are also important.

“With how it is set up you still get the experience of the artists as individuals,” she said.

All of the artists said they’re excited for the possibilities that the art show brings. It is the University’s chance to see their work for the first time as they start on the process towards their master’s degrees.

The show marks the closing of one chapter and an opening of another for all the artists. For Evans, the art in the show represents the old, and she is ready to get up and start moving forward. For Hill, the show is a great way to start the new chapter in his pursuit to discover himself, which he says is what art is all about.

Everyone who is directly involved in the project said they’re very excited and they hope the public can get excited, too. Lily Watson said visitors should expect a lot of talent and variety and will want to come back and see how the artists progress.

“If you are curious about the new crop of grad students, then you owe it to yourself to fuel that curiosity,” Hill said. “You may be surprised.”