Wagner College's Department of Visual Art is pleased to present its first juried show of art made by staff and non-Art Department faculty, on display now until November 30 at the Spotlight Gallery. Visual Arts Department faculty selected this group of artworks from many entries showing an impressive range of styles and media. Find descriptions of the works on display below, and visit the gallery in the Union Building.
Submissions
Dr. Nick Richardson displays a knack for capturing surprising moments and creating dynamic compositions in his richly saturated images of wrestlers in the ring.
Dr. Lori Weintrob’s photos of cherry blossoms exude a quiet radiance. She zooms in on the images to fill the frame with abstract designs. The fresh delicate blooms feel timeless.
Dr. Marilyn Kiss, Emeritus, expertly bridges abstract shapes and forms. Her shadow photograph evokes solitude and nature mixed with the geometric bars of a window. Her plastic Easter egg photograph magically creates an abstraction with solid shapes and bright colors that transport the viewer.
Dr. Rich LaRocca reveals a photographer’s experienced eye as he takes us to a simple brick wall and fire escape — but with its large ad for a lash salon, the entire piece feels like an old movie set, rich with potential narrative. His saturated close-up of a purple flower seems to spiral us into the center, and we get lost between the object and its geometry.
Dr. Penny Brandt shows two joyful images of octopi in paintings created in collaboration with her son. The octopi seem to barely fit into their rectangles, pushing against the boundaries of the edges. While playful, they also show a sophistication of understanding how to create dynamic shape and form.
Dr. Lindsay Sabatino transports us to the ocean, where she puts us on the edge between a roiling wave and a tranquil sea. We sense the potential violence of the sea while also marveling at its vastness.
Dr. Paul Barretta uses geometry and perspective to transform his subjects into evocative images. His black-and-white photograph of a former casino, now an empty shell, feels haunting. The motel photograph likewise feels like a relic of the past.
Dr. Aarti Ivanic’s two paintings juxtapose heat and water as flames seem to explode over water in one, and the other paints the water’s edge against earth. These vibrant works walk the line between abstraction and figuration.
Professor David Pallister shares a photo taken from our own Wagner College oval! However, the viewer may barely recognize this space, which is transformed by fog into a landscape more akin to a British pastoral scene. Subtle shifts of value and color feel both calming and mysterious.
Dr. Peg Horan, Emeritus, paints two quiet scenes where humans and water meet. These small canvases are intimate in scale, but still give us a sense of air and space. The boats represent humans as well in these landscapes.
Dr. Felicia Ruff includes a tender portrait of her Nana, drawn when she was only 16 years old. The carefully wrought drawing expresses love and affection for a woman who continues to loom large in Dr. Ruff’s psyche, decades later.
