Iconic paintings, abstract photography, paper prints highlight 2011 Wright State faculty art exhibition

Assistant professor of photography in the Art and Art History department, Tracy Longley-Cook is exhibiting a new series of photographic images entitled Topographies, which engage the themes of personal and geographical landscape from an alternative point of view.

From January 23 to March 6, 2011, the Robert and Elaine Stein Galleries will feature the work of Wright State University art faculty Diane Fitch, Tracy Longley-Cook and Danielle Rante.

Fitch is professor of painting and drawing in the Art and Art History Department. In the exhibited paintings she borrows gestures and configurations from medieval and Renaissance paintings and from Gothic relief sculpture. The work recasts iconic Christian episodes and scenes from the lives of the saints in a contemporary space, using Fitch’s children as models. Her intent is to explore the changing meaning of these archetypal narratives when the action is transported to a present-day setting.

Assistant professor of photography in the Art and Art History department, Longley-Cook is exhibiting a new series of photographic images entitled Topographies, which engage the themes of personal and geographical landscape from an alternative point of view. In these works, Longley-Cook utilizes her body and photographic chemistry to create abstract imprints on film, which are then scanned and printed as large-scale digital prints. She is interested in the correlation between the Earth’s surface as a record of natural and man-made alterations and our body (specifically the skin) as a record of our own personal experiences.

Rante works primarily with paper to create large installations as well as delicate drawings and prints. The sources for her images are from life and nature. She uses decay and decoration as themes to reconcile her own questions while moving through the world. Rante is an assistant professor of printmaking in the Art and Art History Department.

On Sunday, January 23, the artists will be giving a gallery talk in the Robert and Elaine Stein Galleries at 3 p.m., with a reception to follow until 5:30 p.m. It is free and open to the public.

Gallery hours are Wednesday and Friday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday noon to 4 p.m.

All visitor parking areas on campus are free, and parking at the Creative Arts Center is unrestricted after 4 p.m. Friday and on the weekends. A dedicated parking space for galleries patrons is available during school hours. All galleries events are free and open to the public.

For more information on upcoming events and exhibitions or for driving directions, please contact the galleries at (937) 775-2978 or visit our website, http://www.wright.edu/artgalleries.