Latest MSU art exhibition attracts acclaimed Mississippi printmaker ‘Star Wars’

Contact: Aspen Harris

A colorful robot print by Sean Star WarsSTARKVILLE, Miss.—Mississippi State is showcasing an accomplished Mississippi printmaker’s work in a new art exhibition opening Thursday [Jan. 26] through Feb. 25, along with a variety of related events.

Laurel-based printmaker Sean Star Wars brings his bold, multi-colored and self-named show—“Sean Star Wars: American Dream/Mississippi Nightmare"—to MSU’s Visual Arts Center Gallery at 808 University Drive. Free and open to the public, the gallery is open Monday-Friday, 1-6 p.m., and Saturdays, 1-4 p.m.

Star Wars, whose prints have been featured on popular television programs such as “The Big Bang Theory” and “Workaholics,” will give a free talk on his work Thursday [Jan. 26] in Briscoe Hall Room 204 at 1 p.m., followed by a printmaking workshop from 2-4:30 p.m. To attend the workshop, email Jacob Crook at jcrook@caad.msstate.edu for a reservation. The opening reception is immediately following in the gallery from 5-6 p.m.

Along with the exhibition, a skateboard desk design and painting workshop will be held Feb. 16 from 6-7 p.m. at the MSU Idea Shop on Main Street in Starkville. Campus and community participants may bring their own skateboard or receive a board from a limited stock. Paint, brushes and other embellishments will be provided.

Star Wars, a full-time member of Outlaw Printmakers international artist collective, received a Master of Fine Arts in Printmaking from Louisiana State University. He is the owner of Woodcut Funhouse in Laurel and lives there with his wife and five children. His work can be found on book covers, album covers, magazines and films.

For more information, visit www.caad.msstate.edu/exhibitions/2023/sean-star-wars-american-dream-mississippi-nightmare.

MSU’s Department of Art is online at www.caad.msstate.edu/academics/majors/art.

MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.