| Gallery Presents "A Feast for the Eyes" Art Exhibition |
08.15.12 |
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As part of Lebanon Valley College's Colloquium Series on HAPPINESS, the Suzanne H. Arnold Art Gallery unveils its newest exhibit, "A Feast for the Eyes," Friday, August 31 at 5 p.m. The exhibition will feature still-life paintings of food, examining the importance of food as a subject of the still life genre. An opening reception hosted by LVC President Lewis Evitts Thayne and his wife, Dorothy, will be held from 5 until 7 p.m. Aug. 31. Reception admission is free to LVC students and members of the gallery; $10 for non-members.
The painting of food has fascinated artists since antiquity and their portrayals, in turn, bring to light a culture's relationship with food. "A Feast for the Eyes" offers a sampling of works ranging from the 17th century to intriguing contemporary examples. The 17th-century Dutch painting "Still Life with a Roemer" by Willem Kalf portrays a sparkling wine glass, a rumpled Turkish carpet, and a peeled pomegranate, as an expression of a sumptuous feast hinting at its eventual decay. One of America's earliest still life painters, Raphaelle Peale (1774–1825), displays the prosperous domesticity of the American middle class in his work. The spare modern portrayal of the still life "Pink Tablecloth" by Milton Avery is in sharp contrast to the lusciously detailed later twentieth-century Neo-Realist painting "Kraft Salad" by Janet Fish.
Surrealist artist Salvador Dali (Spanish, 1904–1989) created a lavishly illustrated cookbook, "Les dîners de Gala" (1973), for his wife and muse Gala. The 12 outlandish and thought-provoking colored lithographs by Dali on display in the exhibition were created to accompany this cookbook. Pop artists such as Andy Warhol and Claes Oldenburg used food as the object of commentary about a burgeoning consumer society. Artists also recreated food in sculpture that appears tempting, yet inedible, such as Robin Antar's "Milano Cookies." A larger sampling of post-modern examples of still life such as work by John Moore, Jeanne Duval, Renée Foulks, and Dan Massad will show how contemporary artists have drawn inspiration from the past such as Dutch paintings, modernism, classicism and realism and provocatively explore this genre to create unique their own unique visions.
In addition to the exhibit, the Gallery will present "Food and Wine, Sex and Death," September 27 at 5 p.m. with lecturer John Varriano, professor emeritus of art at Mount Holyoke College, as well as two painting workshops. The "Sweet Creations" painting workshop and children's painting workshops will take place September 15 at 9 a.m. Participants must pre-register and pay a registration fee.
Gallery hours are Wednesdays from 5 to 8 p.m.; Thursdays and Fridays from 1 to 4:30 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and by appointment for groups. Schools and other organizations are encouraged to contact the Gallery for a guided visit. Additional information is available at www.lvc.edu/gallery, gallery@lvc.edu, or 717-867-6445. "A Feast for the Eyes" closes October 21, 2012.
HAPPINESS is a year-long integrated series of guest speakers, roundtable discussions, films and courses that will consider the meaning and importance of happiness as a psychological, physiological, social and cultural phenomenon. It involves presentations by speakers from a number of disciplines who approach the theme from the standpoints of the arts, the wellness of body and mind, the demands of a consumer economy, the expectations and duties of political life, and the broad philosophical questions of human flourishing.
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