“Implied Motion,” an exhibit by local artist Taylor Gutermute, has made its way to Sacramento State. The exhibit will be displayed until March 19 at the University Union Gallery. Gutermute has worked in San Francisco, New York City and Sacramento.

Tiffany Dreyer, design manager of the University Union and coordinator of the gallery, found Gutermute on Google. After reading her resume, Dreyer thought it would be amazing to have Gutermute show her work at the gallery.

“Everyone knows her locally,” Dreyer said. “I’m excited that she’s able to have a show.”

The artwork displayed at the gallery features Gutermute’s freestanding sheet metal sculptures. Gutermute said her art is about her and the physicality she has with her work.

“I really enjoy the physicality of working with the metal, so it’s involving me and the way I move physically through the world,” Gutermute said. “I’m a person of motion in many ways, not only moving, but getting things done. I’m accomplishing things, moving from one project to the next, so that whole sense of motion and rhythm shows up in most of my work.”

Gutermute’s sheet metal sculptures are created through a baking process that allows her work to be displayed either indoors or outdoors.

“The color you see on my work is a powdered pigment that’s painted on and then heated to stay in place because it’s kind of powdery,” Gutermute said. “Then a clear coat is put over the whole thing and then it’s baked on, so the pieces can be displayed indoors or outdoors.

Gutermute said she hopes people can see the different types of motion in her pieces.

“Some of the motion is more fluid, some is more choppy, some is seeing through from one level to another, so it has that kind of dimensionality to it,” Gutermute said.

Gutermute’s piece known as “Conduit” was created by found objects. She used pieces of industrial conduit and reshaped scraps of metal that she had left over from other projects.

“A conduit is like a connection, or a conduit is used for something to flow through, so I hope it’s giving that feeling of flowing through,” Gutermute said.

Gutermute’s inspiration for her work comes from her life and the materials she uses.

“When I saw that conduit, I loved the bend in it, the curve in it; that sense of movement it has even when it’s just laying there,” she said.

Israel Lopez, senior business major and University Union employee, said he liked the exhibit because he hasn’t seen many artists use metal in their artwork. Lopez did admit that he didn’t know what the pieces meant or stood for.

“I don’t know what it is. I think it’s just abstract,” Lopez said. “I just see a whole bunch of metal and color.”

Gutermute said she felt great about being able to show her work to students, and hopes to inspire them.

“If something I’m doing can give someone else an idea – heaven knows I’ve been to so many art shows and museums and things, and you look at something and you get an idea, and it’s not that you copy that, but it inspires something in your own psyche about your own work,” Gutermute said.

Freshman Tauz Hall said he liked the new exhibit, and that it was probably the best one he has seen so far at the gallery.

“I like how it looks simple, but if you look at it up close – like the ones over there (points) look like ribbons, but it’s metal,” Hall said. “There are a lot of intricate designs that took a lot of time and effort.”

Nick Alexander, a member of the community, said he usually stops by the gallery to have a look when he notices there is a new show.

“I think it’s a pretty rich exhibit with sort of diverse pieces,” Alexander said. “I think there’s some interesting sort of patterns in the sculptures.”

The only concern Alexander has with the exhibit is the sharpness of some of the pieces.

“If one gets too close they could get cut or scraped,” he said. “It is something one has to keep in mind with some of the pieces.”

Gutermute has a studio at the Art Foundry Gallery in downtown Sacramento that is open on Second Saturday. On the second Saturday of every month, people are able to explore different galleries in downtown Sacramento which stay open to the public until the evening. Gutermute has also done public art that is displayed in the community.

“I have two pieces – one at a park in Natomas and then I have another big one that was commissioned by the City of Sacramento and that’s on Del Paso Boulevard,” Gutermute said. “It’s a great big five-piece installation – the tallest part being 15 feet high. It’s really engaging to do public art.”

Tim Scully, senior economics major, said he noticed that every once in a while the gallery tends to skimp on exhibits with sculptures.

“It’s nice to definitely see the gallery switch over to different mediums. Sculpture especially,” Scully said.

The University Union Gallery is open from 10:30-3:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and from 5-8 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays. The show will have its reception from 6-8 p.m. on Thursday.

Christina Li can be reached at [email protected]