Released - October 13, 2009

Painting exhibit opens Oct. 30 at Eureka College

start seeing - artists todd reed and diana gabriel

An exhibit of paintings by Todd Reed and Diana Gabriel titled “Start Seeing” will be displayed Oct. 30 through Dec. 6 in Burgess Hall Art Gallery at Eureka College. A free, public reception for the artists will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Oct. 30 in the gallery.

Reed, of Bloomington, teaches art at Eureka College and Illinois State University, Normal.  Gabriel, of Hoffman Estates, teaches art at Waubonsee Community College, Sugar Grove, and is the art curator at Morton College, Cicero.

The exhibit reflects the artists’ interest in how the world is perceived visually and how humans construct realities based on those perceptions. 

Reed calls his paintings pictorial constructions that stem from memories of lived visual experiences.  “Each day we face a gauntlet of signs and structures that make up our cities and towns. Brand identity, graphic design and advertisement saturate the landscape of both public and commercial domains,” Reed said. “My paintings crystallize fragmented visual memories of motion through such spaces. The shapes in my paintings occupy an area somewhere between a coherent image and their fragmentary origins.” This, in turn, provides a rich field for cultivating experience within the viewer, Reed said.

Gabriel’s work reflects her curiosity about the complexity of biological structures.  “Science and art are driven by a common interest to understand the world, and small structures can serve as microcosms for understanding larger ones,” she said.  Observing the interaction of the parts of small structures is key to understanding greater phenomena, Gabriel said.

Reed received a bachelor’s degree from Eastern Illinois University, a master’s degree from Governors State University and a master of fine arts degree from ISU.

Gabriel received an associate’s degree from William Rainey Harper College, a bachelor’s degree from Northern Illinois University and a master of fine arts degree from ISU.

The Eureka College gallery is located on the third floor of Burgess Memorial Hall, 300 E. College Ave. It is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and by appointment by calling 467-6866.

Contact:

Michele Lehman

Media Relations Coordinator

mlehman@eureka.edu

(309) 467-6318