Friday, October 01, 2004
Exhibit features works by Michael Aakhus
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Paintings by Michael Aakhus, professor of art, will be on display October 9-November 14 at the New Harmony Gallery of Contemporary Art, where a free public reception for the artist will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. October 9. “Michael Aakhus: Sabbatical Exhibition” will feature works Aakhus created during the 2004 spring semester while on sabbatical in Mexico. His paintings are based on images from his travels in Latin America and touch on themes related to the indigenous cultures he has encountered. Many of the paintings combine elements of magical realism and indigenous symbols in large-scale boldly colored canvases. During the sabbatical, his work was displayed at Tecnologico Autonomo de Studios Superiores de Monterrey Campus Mexico City. He also created bronze sculptures with Miguel Peraza, a sculptor, professor, and author, who is academic director at two campuses of the Tecnologico. Aakhus first traveled to Mexico in 1977 and has returned many times since. In 1996 he began leading an annual spring break student tour to different areas of the country. The Evansville resident joined the University in 1977. He has exhibited widely across the United States and Mexico, and holds an M.F.A. from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville and a B.A. from Bemidji State University. The New Harmony Gallery of Contemporary Art is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and from noon to 4 p.m. Sundays. The exhibit was made possible through the generous support of USI and the Indiana Arts Commission. |
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