“…and the river flowed through her to me,” by Janice Nesser, will be on display at UMSL’s Gallery Visio as part of the traveling “Life Blood” exhibit.

“Life Blood,” a St. Louis-based traveling group exhibit exploring the theme of menstruation, will open Thursday in Gallery Visio at the University of Missouri–St. Louis An opening reception will be from 4 to 7 p.m. in the gallery. The exhibit will be on display through March 24.

“Life Blood” was organized by Jennifer Weigel, who invited several women artists to participate through ideas, suggestions and work. The result is a show that continues to evolve as it remains on its 2010-11 St. Louis-area tour. The show will travel nationally later this year and next.

Weigel created the exhibit to explore a topic that is often considered taboo, even though it is a natural function of the female body. By drawing attention to the female body and to the menstrual cycle, the artists exhibiting in “Life Blood” are able to comment on this life-giving aspect of womanhood and to celebrate and show their discontent with their own bodies and cycles.

The exhibit is free and open to the public.

Gallery Visio is a student-run art space in 170 Millennium Student Center at UMSL’s North Campus, 1 University Blvd. in St. Louis County (63121). The gallery is committed to exhibiting art by undergraduate students and alumni at UMSL, as well as emerging artists.

Regular hours are from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday.

More information:
umsl.edu/~galvisio
lifebloodexhibit.com