BG Projects at the New Harmony Gallery of Contemporary Art proudly presents “Light and Form: Prints and Sculpture.” This is a duo exhibit of Vincennes, Indiana-based artists, professors, and husband and wife Bernard Hagedorn and Deborah Hutchinson-Hagedorn. Curated by NHGCA Senior Gallery Associate Grant DiDomizio, the exhibition consists of mixed media/collage as well as monoprint work by Deborah, and sculptural as well as mixed media work by Bernard. The couple concentrates on creating detailed material surfaces and a slowly dissipating imitation of depth in visual planes that evoke a sense of movement. In their separate practices, they both seek to encapsulate the essential form of things while meditating on the subjective experiences of specific places and moments in time.
The artwork on display engages with the aesthetic concept of the sublime – feelings of awe and astonishment beyond words that bring about emotional experiences and humility at one’s small place in the vast universe. For Deborah Hutchinson-Hagedorn, such feelings appear in her work and subtly shift throughout the process of creation. Her artwork is enhanced by personal enjoyment in the repetitive manual labor of the printing press as well as the element of surprise in not knowing the final product until the print is raised from the ink bed. This element of surprise is furthered with her recent monotype prints in which each image can only be made once; this allows her to experiment freely without expectations. Through the iconography of trees – facets of her daily life in the country that slowly shift the landscape around her and serve as metaphors for seasonality and rebirth – Deborah also seeks to create an unknowable feeling by expressing her love of nature. In her own words, “The tree becomes a visual symbol that controls the linear structure of the composition. The line ‘grows’ just as a tree grows. This line visually helps to divide and unify the space.”
Similarly, Bernard Hagedorn seeks to instill a sense of the sublime in his artwork with layers of symbolism from nature and culture. His sculpture engages the viewer through linear and formal shapes that connect and change visually as you approach the work from different angles. Importantly, the reflective surfaces of many of his works take on colors of the surrounding environment. Yet, as a counterpoint to Deborah, he produces each of his works to be understood without focus on the object itself and its materiality. He invites viewers to ruminate on how art and the environment reflect one another in ways that are both fleeting and enduring. Much like Deborah’s thoughts on nature, his sculptures also rely “…on subtle shifts with every passing minute, yet remain an enduring and resilient form of expression and life.” Though many of Bernard’s works are sculptural, he considers these works akin to his 2-D works as simply ‘drawings-in-space.’ Rectangular forms create groupings of light and shadow that suggest depth or movement, whereas boat forms suggest “travel, distance, and the passage of time.” Together, the tight layering of Deborah and Bernard’s works on display create sensory encounters through shifting interpretation of colors, marks, or linear patterns. The couple’s work constantly evolves with their new experiences, including recent trips to forty different United States National Parks that helped inspire exhibiting work. The titular concept of ‘light and form’ slowly shifts throughout the space with additional encounters created by interactions between artwork. Thus, the exhibit emphasizes nuances to viewers and rewards repeated attention to intentional details alongside passing perceptions.
About the artists:
Deborah Hutchinson-Hagedorn (b. Indianapolis, IN) is a Wheatland, IN-based artist and teacher who works across watercolor, mixed media, screenprint, and monotype printmaking. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Printmaking in 1981 from the Indiana University Herron School of Art and Design (Indianapolis, IN,) and a Master of Fine Arts in Printmaking in 1983 from the Maryland Institute College of Art (Baltimore, MD.) She co-created and ran an art fabrication and sign business (Jasper, IN.) with her husband Bernard from 1986 to 2017 after returning home to Indiana. Deborah currently teaches adjunct classes for the Vincennes University Art and Design Department (Vincennes, IN.) She has taught there since 1987, working full time for 29 years from 1988 to 2017 and attaining the title of Full Professor of Art as well as several educator awards. Her work has been shown throughout the country, including recent local gallery exhibits at Harrison County Arts (Corydon, IN) and Art Space in addition to being a member at the Northwest Territory Arts Guild (both in Vincennes, IN.) In the past 2025-26 school year, Deborah was chosen for the Clowe’s Visiting Artist Program at Franklin College in Franklin, Indiana, where she exhibited work and taught an introductory art techniques class that gave students hands-on learning experience with a professional artist.
Bernard Hagedorn (b. Ferdinand, IN) is a sculptor and two-dimensional artist who lives and works in Wheatland, Indiana. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1981 from the Indiana University Herron School of Art and Design (Indianapolis, IN) and went on to study under famed sculptor Melvin Edwards at Rutgers University Mason Gross School of the Arts (New Brunswick, NJ) where he received a Master of Fine Arts in Sculpture in 1983. Bernard worked as co-head of the fabrication department at the Johnson Atelier Technical Institute of Sculpture from 1983-86, fabricating over twenty-five monumental sculptures designed by prominent international artists such as Melvin Edwards, Herk Van Tongeren, Joel Shapiro, Julian Schnabel, and others. He co-created and ran an art fabrication and sign business (Jasper, IN.) with his wife Deborah from 1986 to 2017 after returning home to Indiana. Bernard currently teaches adjunct classes for the Vincennes University Art and Design Department (Vincennes, IN.) He has worked there in some capacity since 1988, teaching full-time from 1988 to 2016 where he attained the title Full Professor of Art, and working as Director of the Shircliff Gallery of Art at Vincennes University from 1989-2009. He has designed and fabricated three monumental works (with another in progress): The Bill Schroeder Memorial (1988) in Jasper, Indiana dedicated to the longest living artificial heart recipient; The Living Well (2005) at the Ferdinand Community Center in Ferdinand, Indiana dedicated to the people and history of the town; and the 9/11 memorial Dusk and Dawn of the Twenty-First Century (2006) located at the Red Skelton Performing Arts Center at Vincennes University. His work has been shown across the country, including recent local gallery exhibits at Harrison County Arts (Corydon, IN) and Art Space as well as Northwest Territory Artists Guild (both in Vincennes, IN) where he is a member.
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Lead images (left to right) are Hopi Point: Grand Canyon Sunset, Deborah Hutchinson-Hagedorn, monoprint, 30”H x 22”W, 2023; and Fallen Warrior, Bernard Hagedorn, Fabricated Silicon Bronze, 26”H x 32”W x 21”D, 2025
