Bringing local artists to light at Saint Vincent
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Once Brother Nathan Cochran settled upon an idea for his latest exhibition -- to bring attention to the talents of 20 regional artists -- the hard work began: deciding which artists to include.
The Saint Vincent Gallery director said that Western Pennsylvania is home to an abundance of accomplished artists and it was difficult to winnow those to 20 for this show, titled "2 x 20: Twenty Regional Artists Everyone Should Know." Most of the artists who made the cut will attend a free public reception from 6 to 8:30 tonight at the gallery on the campus of Saint Vincent College.
This exhibition is different for the gallery in that it does not have a theme that is common to all of the works. Past shows have featured, for example, landscape painters or watercolorists who paint urban scenes. For "2 x 20," Brother Nathan broadly selected artists whose work he has admired and wanted to showcase. His criteria included skill in technique and craftsmanship and the capacity to communicate a unique vision. Men and women and experienced and emerging artists are represented, as well as a range of ages and media.
Bud Gibbons, an internationally exhibited professor of art at Penn State University, New Kensington, shows two large paintings in which his son becomes a sort of Everyman, looking over the vast landscape of "Distant" and standing at the brink of an "Event Horizon."
Christopher McGinnis, adjunct assistant professor of art at Carnegie Mellon University, exhibits "Fracking the Shale" and the six-panel "Fragments #7," drawn from his interest in America's urban-industrial heritage.
Ron Romano, a Monongahela resident and public school art teacher, shows two colorful, textured abstract works, "Magico" and "Sonos," in which he uses paint buildups and scratched markings to create depth.
Zachary Brown of Mars, a master's of fine arts candidate, is an example of an emerging artist, with two figural works of oil and copper leaf on panel. "I think he's a showstopper," Brother Nathan said, "and, at 23, he's the youngest of the lot."
Timothy Thompson of Greensburg does not have formal art training and paints as a hobby. He works in small scale -- 7-inches by 3-inches -- and uses small brushes to create landscapes with four or five colors and four or five brush strokes, Brother Nathan said.
Eric Armusik of Hamburg, Berks County, references historical and contemporary art. Brother Nathan has annotated his "Self Portrait with the Head of Damien Hirst" to explain the critique of the controversial Mr. Hirst, perhaps best known for his 1990s work of a shark suspended in formaldehyde. Mr. Armusik, one of several exhibiting artists who accept national commissions, completed a painting of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton for a parish bearing her name in Carnegie last year.
First Published February 2, 2012 4:50 am
