Artist Amelia Toelke's exhibit "Bilingual" will be featured in Coastal Carolina University's Rebecca Randall Bryan Art Gallery from July 18 to Aug. 25, featuring artwork with both traditional and modern elements. Admission is free and open to the public. The artist's reception on Thursday, Aug. 25, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., is also open t the public.

Toelke, who grew up in a small town in upstate New York, has a passion for making objects and ornaments that shape the material landscape. Toelke earned an MFA in 2011 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a BFA in 2005 at the State University of New York at Kingston, N.Y. Her artwork has been exhibited in the United States and worldwide.

Influenced by traditional and contemporary Thai aesthetics and handcrafts, Toelke explores a range of materials -- from steel and brass, to acrylic, auto paint and glitter -- while utilizing conventional processes, such as hand sawing, and modern industrial techniques, including laser cutting. "Bilingual" engages the evolving technical toolbox of the modern craftsman, fosters cross cultural dialogue and presents the idea that tradition is not a static concept.

The gallery is located in the Thomas W. and Robin W. Edwards College of Humanities and Fine Arts, room 129, and is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Friday. The gallery is the primary visual laboratory for the Department of Visual Arts at CCU and is dedicated to advancing the education of visual arts and cultivating the production, interpretation and enjoyment of objects and images in society.

For more information, contact Jim Arendt, gallery director, at 843-349-6454, or visit coastal.edu/gallery.