CRAWFORDSVILLE, IN — The Wabash College Art Department will present its final exhibition of the 2001-2002 season with the Wabash Senior Art Majors' Exhibition. Opening on Monday, April 15, a reception will be held at 8:00 p.m. in the Eric Dean Gallery in the Wabash Fine Arts Center.
The art show features works by Chad Hudson, Andrew Kaiser, Clayton Osborne, and Ben Prickel.
Chad Hudson of Burnettsville, Ind. comments on his paintings: "I am a non-objective abstract painter. I approach abstraction as the act of breaking down the objective world into interactions of the elements and principles of art: line, shape, value, texture, color, repetition, variety, rhythm, balance, portion, economy, and unity. These elements and principles combine to produce the subject matter of each piece. I have created well composed, non-objective paintings that emphasize the arrangement of these elements and principles into coherent abstract compositions. By doing this my paintings appeal aesthetically to their audience."
"I do not expect the viewers to decipher any hidden meanings within the work. I have created straightforward, honest, abstract paintings. However, I encourage viewers to seek out illusions and geometric objects that are hidden throughout each piece. Within this exhibition certain artworks are to be viewed as individual pieces, others are grouped together to be seen as single coherent works. When separated each painting in these series is successful as an individual piece."
Hudson is the son of Weldon and Connie Hudson of Burnettsville, Ind.
Andrew Kaiser of Cincinnati comments: "My work is inspired and informed by comic art of all stripes. From the traditional hand-drawn work found in the funny pages to the stylization of Japanese work to the fine art pieces by Roy Lichtenstein, it all factors into the amalgam of comic illustration that I work from. I feel that this genre has been largely neglected as art and as a source of inspiration. I feel a certain empathy for the under-appreciation of comic art and would like to see it get more respect as an art form. In addition to comic art, film and television also inspire me. Most relevant is animation, particularly that coming out of Japan or from Japanese directors/animators. I also use film to get ideas for framing and ways to increase the narrative power of my pieces."
Kaiser is the son of Kathleen Kaiser of Cincinnati, Ohio.
Clayton Osborne of Covington, Ind. comments on his paintings: "The painted objects in this series emphasize contrasting elements of form and paint application, and they push the boundaries of painting by stressing the objecthood of the painting itself. Curvilinear and geometric forms of the picture plane establish balance while the positive and negative aspects produce a rhythm across the painted surfaces and into the real space. The applied hues and the neutral, white wall create a vibrant play between each other. Objects require a three-dimensional consideration thus I treat every visible surface of my work. The painted objects rely on the primacy of literal shape and eliminate depicted shape or illusion. Real space becomes an essential part of my work as the gallery wall and its space mingles with the object's surface. The object enters the environment of the gallery and vice versa. Together these approaches offer an intriguing yet simply beautiful art object."
Osborne is the son of Marion and Margaret Osborne of Covington, Ind.
Benjamin Prickel of Lafayette, Ind. comments on his work: "I have had some very complicated relationships in my life, and due to these relationships I have endured some hard times, as well as rewarding times. The highs and lows that I have experienced have filled me with strong emotions that I feel the need to express through painting. The purpose of these paintings is to portray the human thoughts, feelings, and emotions that certain types of human interaction evoke. Concepts like, love, hate, and relationships, are obviously very deep and complicated forms of human interaction that evoke feelings in me that I have expressed here in my paintings. I encourage the viewer look at these paintings through the filter of his or her own experiences within the context of these feelings, emotions, and subjects. I have chosen to use a symbolic/expressionistic approach that places images in relation to one another on the canvas so that the images themselves and their relation to each other on the painting surface convey the content I am expressing."
Prickel is the son of Jane Pearson of Lafayette, Ind.
The senior art exhibit will continue through May 12. The Eric Dean Gallery is located at 501 West Grant Street in the Randolph H. Deer Art Wing of the College's Fine Arts Center. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays. The Gallery phone number is 765-361-6420. Admission is free.