Realism Realized in New Art Gallery

“Capturing Realism,” a new art exhibit in the Pauly Friedman Art Gallery, features the works of 20 different artists from the Waichulis Studio. The portraits, landscapes and still life paintings are done in charcoal, oil, and graphite.

Students who attended a meet-the-artists event found the “out of the ordinary” subject matter intriguing. “Usually when I think of art I picture boring old paintings from, like, the Middle Ages but this exhibit was really modern and fascinating and some of the pieces like ‘Edificium’ by Edward Dillon, for example, really made me stop and think,” said sophomore Mason Coldwater.

Students said they also enjoyed the more light-hearted pieces. “I really liked the pieces that were fun like the gummy worms one [‘Insinuating Trouble’ by Michael E. Hockenbury]. I thought that was really interesting because you normally don’t see something like gummy worms being the subject of a piece of art,” said sophomore Adam Hook.

Campus community members were pleased to see the arts featured in schools. “My niece goes to school here and told me about the gallery, so I decided to come and see what it was all about and I am so glad that I did,” said Cheryl Bolan of Mountaintop. “Sometimes it seems like the arts are dying out in schools and no one cares about things like music and art and theater anymore, so I’m glad to see that Misericordia is supporting the arts in such a big way like holding functions like this,” she added.

The artists’ work has been featured and recognized nationwide. The exhibit will be on display until Dec. 19 and can be seen during the gallery’s viewing hours. The next exhibit, titled “ASARO – Revolutionary Mexican Prints,” will kick off the spring semester.

Learn more about the exhibit at www.misericordia.edu/news/news_full.cfm?news_id=53015.