Artists Interpret the Figure in "Figure Eight" Exhibit at Elizabethtown College

Bender, Geib, Schellenberg and Others Show Various Works

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Lauren with Pear by Lindsey

ELIZABETHTOWN, PA (01/15/2010)(readMedia)-- The Elizabethtown College Fine Arts Division of the Department of Fine and Performing Arts presents the "Figure Eight" art show, which brings together eight diverse artists who use the figure as a primary form in their work. An opening reception is planned for 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 22, in the Lyet Gallery, Leffler Chapel & Performance Center, Elizabethtown College, and will continue through Feb. 19.

Gallery Hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

"Each artist in the exhibit brings a unique approach expressing how he or she interprets the figure and the psychology that is embedded in their process," said curator and Elizabethtown College Professor of Art Milt Friedly. "In addition, some works give insight into the dynamic of artist/model relationship-an ongoing dialogue that explores attachment and detachment. The exhibit features pieces by Eva Bender, Jeff Geib, Andrew Heisey, Judith Johnson, Philip Lindsey, Mark Oxman, Catherine Prescott and Lou Schellenberg.

"Watercolor is well suited for figure work. It can catch the frailty and luminosity of the human body in a gradual build-up of transparent layers of water and pigments," said exhibitor and watercolorist Eva Stina Bender, of Annville.

Lancaster artist Jeff Geib said drawing is the core of his work. "Figure drawing is … that most challenging and elemental encounter involving a human depicting a human in the most immediate and profound way, becomes the core, if you will, of the core."

Andrew Heisey, art department chair and teacher at Harrisburg Christian School in Harrisburg, shows the figure in various ceramic pieces and mixed media, while Judith Johnson's junk sculpture and small bronzes originate from a recurring tribal dream image. "Abua aka (Ashanti tribe, Kenya) … first appeared in my work as junk metal sculptures (my alter egos), made from scrap metal with copper toilet floats for heads … She appears now in the small bronze sculptures as feminine spirits in meditation."

Philip Lindsey, of Chambersburg, is a tenured, professor of art at Wilson College. For his piece Lauren with Pear, an oil on canvas, he felt a need to make a painting about his daughter's innocence, sweetness, tenderness and purity.

Sculptor Mark Oxman, of Amherst, Mass., is retired from American University. He works from photographs, but begins sculpting with an idea about the subject-"I am looking for visual information that will feed that idea," he said.

The commissioned portraits of Catherine Prescott, Mechanicsburg, include those of children, educators and couples, and Lou Schellenberg, associate professor of art at Elizabethtown, exhibits small works on paper done from memory, small sketches, monoprints and photos. The works have been reworked and layered using a variety of mediums on paper.

The reception and exhibit are open to the public. Contact: Amy Reynolds, 717-361-1212.

Note: Additional information, links and photos are available at our website.

Elizabethtown College, in southeastern Pennsylvania, is a private coed college with degrees in liberal arts, fine and performing arts, science and engineering, business, communications and education. The hallmarks of an Elizabethtown education are academic rigor, high expectations and intellectual curiosity. Our faculty members are teacher-scholars, pursuing their academic areas of expertise while sharing that expertise with students.