Catalogs for the exhibitions “Found/Loaded” and “Encoded,” currently showing in The Cole Art Center, showcase the works.

Catalogs for the exhibitions “Found/Loaded” and “Encoded,” currently showing in The Cole Art Center, showcase the works.


NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The Stephen F. Austin State University School of Art will host talks with artists Sarah Fisher and Karen Eisele via Zoom from 5 to 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 18.

Two exhibitions – Fisher and Rachel Anderson’s “Found/Loaded” and Eisele’s “Encoded” – are showing in The Ed and Gwen Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House, SFA’s historic downtown art gallery. The shows can be viewed in person through March 20.

Pre-registration is required to participate in the virtual artist talks and a gallery tour. Registration can be accessed at  art.sfasu.edu/gallerytalk.

In “Found/Loaded,” Fisher collaborates with fashion designer Anderson to transform found objects as diverse and seemingly unrelated as dry cleaning identification stickers, sacramental furniture, grocery bags and newspapers. The work in “Found/Loaded” is primarily text based, mixed media and found object, although it includes some drawing and painting.

In describing her exhibition “Encoded,” Eisele writes that Byzantine iconography has “a rich history where the techniques used for each aspect of the painting have symbolic meaning.” These traditions have remained unchanged for centuries. Eisele’s work invites viewers to contemplate the ways in which the past is visually encoded upon the present.

The shows are sponsored in part by the SFA Friends of the Visual Arts, William Arscott and the Nacogdoches Junior Forum. Admission is free. Social distancing and face masks are required.

The Cole Art Center is located at 329 E. Main Street. For more information about the School of Art and the exhibitions, call (936) 468-4804.