Lee University is hosting an art exhibition featuring a private collection of works from various Lee art professors, which will be on display in the Squires Library from now until Friday, Sept. 29.
The art gallery will feature the works of six art professors: Mary Mathias-Dickerson, Olive B. Durant, Carrie Ann Parks, Victoria Phillips, Rondall Reynoso and Bradley Wilson.
Ms. Mathias-Dickerson's artwork focuses upon “people during a moment in their story.” Her new portrait series depicts young teenagers’ navigation through life changes, as well as studies of women that she painted directly from life. She has been teaching college-level painting and drawing classes for 20 years, having studied Renaissance painting techniques, drawing, art history, and color theory in both Italy and France.
“Some people are beautiful in a way that is easy to see immediately, but seeing God’s creative beauty in all people became my primary way of seeing,” said Ms. Mathias-Dickerson. “I love to draw anything, but more than anything, I love drawing people.”
Ms. Durant practices various crafts, including pottery, printmaking, and the marbling of paper and cloth embroidery. She is consistently exploring new avenues through which to teach the community about clay and pottery and uses both the traditional kick wheel and the electric wheel for her pottery art.
“The art of handmade craft is a Tennessee legacy, and I adore living and dwelling in Appalachia searching for pockets of clay and going on digs,” said Ms. Durant. “I am firmly rooted in connecting craft and people.”
Ms. Parks’ figurative drawings and ceramic sculptures have been exhibited nationally and are included in numerous books on contemporary ceramics. Her work reflects an ongoing interest in historical ceramic forms like tiles, teapots and figures.
“The elements of traditional teapot design—spouts, lids, handles, and feet—are incorporated into the gestures, costumes, and coifs of my figurative teapots in ways that are sometimes metaphorical and often humorous,” said Ms. Parks. “In my drawings and ceramic sculptures, I also explore contemporary themes through personal, often autobiographical, imagery.”
Ms. Phillips’ art has been involved in numerous exhibits throughout the United States as her private collectors continue to grow domestically and abroad. Her work is a combination of Romanticism, Modernism, and Contemporary styles, all of which influence and inform her process.
“My overall body of work is an exploration of my spiritual ethos,” said Ms. Phillips. “This exploration of non-tangible elements is based on hope for a better life and peace that surpasses all understanding.”
Mr. Reynoso’s art has been exhibited in over 90 solo and group exhibitions across North America, including commercial galleries, art centers, ecclesiastical spaces, colleges, universities, and museums.
"My formal abstraction deals heavily with metaphors, both sociological and spiritual, including the exploration of the boundaries between 2-D and 3-D as a metaphor for the relationship of the physical and the spiritual,” said Mr. Reynoso.
Mr. Wilson is a visual artist specializing in paintings, drawings, and prints. In addition to teaching at Lee, he conducts regular painting workshops at a variety of venues. He is most interested in the idea of painting as an improvised performance.
“I have no philosophy of painting other than to be open and responsive to the possibilities of the moment. Connecting with the present and finding the potential—this is what my work is about,” said Mr. Wilson.
The art exhibition is open Monday–Thursday, 8 a.m. to midnight; Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday, noon to 8 p.m.; and Sunday, 1 p.m. to midnight.
For more information about the art exhibition, contact Phillips at vphillips@leeuniversity.edu.