The SMSU Whipple Gallery is showcasing a wide range of artwork created by former students as part of the 2015 Alumni Art Exhibit.

Featured artists are Catherine Abbott, Glendalynne Beauzay, Terrence Fogarty, Esmail Mostaghimi, Gene Tokheim, Lucy Tokheim, and Dean Waltenburg.

Abbott began working in the SMSU painting studio her junior year in high school in 1996, and finished her degree in 2009.

“I pretty much lived in the studio,” Abbott said. “In those days, we set up camp in there and became fairly territorial.”

She displays “Elemental Changes” and “Minnesota Landscape” which were created earlier this year, and shown at an event at the Southwest Research and Outreach Center in Lamberton, Minn. They are mixed media pieces, which is a new style for Abbott. To create these, she builds layers onto one another using colored pencil, ink, and other found materials.

She will be featured in a joint exhibit at the Marshall Fine Arts Council in December, and at Gallery 705 in Stroudsburg, Pa. Abbott says her journey as an artist is on a hiatus right now, as she raises her two kids.

“I keep reveling in the experience and the privilege of raising them and so for now my art mostly lives inside me, ideas building and building and waiting to make a major comeback,” Abbott said.

Beauzay graduated in 1975 with a degree in studio art. She was awarded an Honors Exhibit by SMSU, the first woman and second person to receive this recognition.

Featured pieces include “January,” and “November,” both created using the process of silk screening. She learned this process from a friend after graduation, and continued using it in her own studio.

Beauzay was associated with the Southwest Minnesota Arts and Humanities Council, where she hung exhibits of various artists for twenty years. She had exhibits of her own all around Minnesota.

“[I] continue my lifelong interest in art that was certainly nurtured from my college days at SMSU,” Beauzay said.

Fogarty specializes in sports art, and creates ultra-realistic paintings. He had a solo show in the Whipple Gallery last month.

Mostaghimi graduated in 1986 with a degree in studio art and hotel & restaurant administration. His work in the gallery depict his four girls, and reflect events that are happening around the world.

He currently lives in Le Sueur, Minn., and owns two restaurants. Mostaghimi had a show at the Carnegie Art Center in Mankato. He also has been in juried art exhibits over the last few years, earning first and fourth place awards.

Gene and Lucy Tokheim display wheel-thrown stoneware pottery, designed in the Nordic tradition. Some pieces, including “Wingin’ It Pot” were made in honor of Professor of Art Gordon Dingman, who taught at SMSU from 1968-1983. Their studio, Tokheim Stoneware, is near Dawson, Minn.

The show runs Sept. 24 through Oct. 22 in the William Whipple Gallery.