UNH Art Gallery Celebrates Vastness of the Art World with Three New Exhibits Opening Oct. 25

Contact: Lori Gula
603-862-0574
UNH Media Relations

October 8, 2003

C.M. Muskat, Transitions - I 2002 Lithograph, ed. of 6 1.75" x 3.75"

DURHAM, N.H. - The vastness and complexity that is the world of art will be celebrated at the University of New Hampshire Art Gallery, which will host three diverse exhibits beginning Oct. 25.

The three exhibits are “Small Prints by Members of the Boston Printmakers,” “Arthur Balderacchi: Drawn to Nature,” and “India and Nepal: Selections from the Permanent Collection.” The exhibits run Oct. 25 to Dec. 15, 2003. A preview reception will be held Friday, Oct. 24, from 6 to 8 p.m. Free parking for the reception is available in B-Lot, near the corner of Mill Road and McDaniel Drive.

Small Prints by Members of the Boston Printmakers
For the Small Prints exhibition, members of the Boston Printmakers were invited to submit prints that measured no more than eight inches square. This traveling exhibition of miniatures showcases the intricate and detailed nature of the print, even exaggerating that characteristic by the constraint of size. Small Prints features the work of more than 70 artists from the United States and Canada. The works range from etchings to digital drawings, each depicting a subject unique to the artist.

Arthur Balderacchi: Drawn to Nature
After 37 years of teaching art at UNH, the artistic legacy of Arthur Balderacchi, one of the Seacoast's finest artists, is being celebrated with an exhibition of drawings and sculptures. From 1965 to 2001, Balderacchi exhibited a passion for making art and an enthusiasm for teaching—two enduring qualities that distinguished his career at the university. He taught a wide range of subjects, including bronze casting, life sculpture, and drawing. Students were drawn to Balderacchi, not only for his obvious talents as an artist, but for his approach to teaching. With humor, enthusiasm, and empathy, he engaged his students in art and conversation, viewing them as individuals who were eager to see the world around them in new ways.

Drawn to Nature brings together almost 50 works from a long and prolific career. Balderacchi is a master draftsman whose romantic vision enhances every carefully observed landscape and human form. His earlier figure drawings, his renderings of the rocky New England seacoast, his pastoral views of the Italian landscape, and his undulating ceramic and bronze sculptures reveal an artist who has unwaveringly taken his inspiration from the beauty of nature.

India and Nepal: Selections from the Permanent Collection
The intrigue of the Far East has been captured in this small exhibition of Indian and Nepalese works of art. The bronze religious sculptures and miniature paintings are drawn largely from The Art Gallery's permanent collection, with other works on loan from Marion James, a professor emerita of history from UNH and an avid collector of Indian art. With beauty and exoticism, these works tell of a faraway country where the Hindu supreme God, Brahma, takes on various forms and identities as represented in some instances by the elephant-man, Ganesha, or the man-God, Vishnu. These works convey the mythological details of an ancient religion still practiced by more than 80 percent of India's population.

Guardian Angel with Tiara, 1999 Bronze 22" x 23.5" x 9.25"

Rocks, 1990 Pencil on paper, 29.5" x 42" Collection of Helen K. Reid

Dream Catcher-Hung on Dreams, 2002 Pencil on paper 42" x 29.75"

ArtBreak Series: Wednesdays, noon-1 p.m.

Unless otherwise noted, programs are in Room A219, Paul Creative Arts Center.

• Oct. 29: Lecture, “The New Assisi: The Earthquake of September 26, 1997, and Its Long-term Effects on Assisi,” by UNH humanities student Cristin Van Heest, whose research was funded by the International Research Opportunities Program.
  
• Nov. 5: Slide lecture on photographer Lotte Jacobi by Dr. Kurt Sundstrom, curator of the exhibition, Focus on the Soul: The Photographs of Lotte Jacobi, on view at the Currier Museum of Art in Manchester.
  
• Nov. 12: Lecture by Maine printmaker Nancy Davison, an artist whose work is on view in Small Prints by Members of the Boston Printmakers.
  
• Nov. 19: Slide lecture, “From Crate to Reception: Mounting Exhibitions at The Art Gallery,” by Astrida Schaeffer, assistant director of The Art Gallery.
  
• Dec. 3: Slide lecture, “Indian Miniature Painting: The Loves of Krishna” by Elinor Gadon, lecturer in the UNH Department of Art and Art History.
  
• Dec. 10: Holiday concert by guitarist David Newsam and flautist Ellen Rondina.

The UNH Art Gallery is located in the Paul Creative Arts Center, 30 College Road. Admission is free. Hours are Monday through Wednesday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; Thursday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m.; and Saturday and Sunday, 1-5 p.m. The Art Gallery is closed Fridays, university holidays, and during exhibition changes. School and other groups are welcome at The Art Gallery. Tours are offered free of charge with advance reservation and can be scheduled by calling the Outreach Program at 862-3713.

For more information call 603-862-3712 or send e-mail to art.gallery@unh.edu.