By Jennifer Vento
UNH News Bureau
603-862-1460

August 8, 2001

DURHAM, N.H. -- The Art Gallery at the University of New Hampshire opens its fall schedule with two concurrent exhibitions showcasing the gallery's most recent acquisitions, and works by new and returning faculty.

"Focus on the Collection: Recent Acquisitions" and "2001 Art Faculty Review" open Thursday, Sept. 6, with a preview reception Wednesday, Sept. 5, from 5 to 7 p.m. "Focus on the Collection: Recent Acquisitions" features new objects received over the last three years that are now part of the gallery's permanent collection. They include works by such diverse artists as Boston School painter and printmaker Frank Benson, New Hampshire printmaker Herbert Waters, internationally known printmaker Peter Milton, New England sculptor Sumner Winebaum and former UNH instructor and painter Sigmund Abeles.

"Each year, we draw on works from our collection to create meaningful exhibitions," says Art Gallery Director Vicki Wright. "Students using our collection learn to examine, research and care for works of art."

Mauricio Lasansky's print, "Dachau," inspired by Picasso's "Guernica," is also included in this exhibit. Lasansky is best known for his Nazi drawings and prints depicting the horrors Jews and others faced at the hands of Hitler and the Third Reich. "Dachau," donated by the Lasansky family, is a dark, ominous reminder of the first concentration camp built in Germany.

Newly hired art department faculty members Brian Chu and Vera Iliatova will exhibit their works in the "2001 Faculty Review" along with photographer and sculptor Chris Enos and ceramic sculptor Maryse Searls McConnell, both returning from sabbatical.

Chu, an assistant professor and painter, works with thick paint, layering it heavily to add a textural quality to his subject. His pastel palette evokes comparisons to Impressionism, yet his subject matter remains mysterious and curious.

Iliatova, a native of St. Petersburg, Russia, is a recent M.F.A. graduate from Yale University. She works primarily with portraiture and explores the nature of identity. "I see myself differently from the way other people see me," Iliatova says. "This duality in perception is characteristic of all human beings."

The exhibition and related events, including the following ArtBreak series, are free and open to the public.

WEEKLY ARTBREAK PROGRAMS: Wednesdays, noon to 1 p.m.

Sept. 12: Slide Lecture, given by Sigmund Abeles, professor emeritus of the UNH Department of Art and Art History. Room A219.

Sept. 19: Concert, "To the Greenwood Gone: English Lute Songs & Old Ballads," performed by David Ripley, professor of music. Art Gallery.

Sept. 26: Gallery Talk given by exhibiting faculty artists Brian Chu, Chris Enos and Maryse Searls McConnell. Art Gallery.

Oct. 3: Slide Lecture given by exhibiting artist and new faculty member Vera Iliatova, UNH Department of Art and Art History. Room A219.

Oct. 10: Slide Lecture, "Jazz to Jitterbug, Harlem to Hollywood: Rediscovering an Era," given by Jake Wien, art dealer of works on paper from the Jazz Age. Room A219.

The exhibitions run through Oct. 16. Gallery hours are: Monday-Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Thursday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 1 to 5 p.m. (closed Fridays and University holidays). School and group tours are offered with advance reservation and can be scheduled by calling the Outreach Program at 603-862-3713. The Art Gallery is located at UNH's Paul Creative Arts Center on College Road in Durham. Contact: (603) 862-3712 or e-mail art.gallery@unh.edu for more information.

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