By Matthew Laurrie
Features Editor
Artistic expression can take on a variety of imaginative forms.
The Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts (QCA) has recently welcomed four new displays to its galleries this semester. Each exhibition highlights different elements of artistic style and provides the QCA with a diverse array of showcases.
One of the new exhibitions will include pieces of work by surrealist Salvador Dali. Sean Conklin, assistant curator of the Quick Center, said most people aren’t aware that the QCA is home to several well-known pieces of original art. Conklin said it is important for people to appreciate art.
“We now have the Salvador Dali exhibitions – it’s a mixture of 13 etchings and glitter prints, and then we also have two large-format prints,” Conklin said.
He said the community will benefit in a variety of ways from the Dali exhibit. He looks forward to the knowledge of art history it will impart on admirers.
“This is a special exhibition showcasing his imagery, what it takes to construct his surrealist vision,” Conklin said. “So it’s also an educational art history exhibition, as well as a (recognizable) feature.”
“Funny Pages” is another new exhibit that will pull at the heart-strings of the child in everyone. Conklin said he hopes it will bring out the inner nerd in onlookers. The QCA utilized resources on campus to compile the exhibit, including archives from the Friedsam Memorial Library.
“It’s basically comic book art that we have in our personal collection, and then things we’ve taken from the Friedsam,” he said. “From the archives we have ‘Brother Juniper,’ (who’s) a Franciscan friar, and basically they were single-panel cartoons about his interactions with day-to-day life.”
Conklin said the exhibit hints on the development of the modern-day superhero and will draw inspiration from famous comics. The collection also contains signed pieces from Charles Schulz, who developed the Peanuts comic strip.
“The comic book exhibition was really fun to design,” he said. “I think there needed to be something that was a little lighter, a little more immersive and something that you could read and laugh about.”
Another exhibit will showcase the work of Ruta Marino, a contemporary artist who works mainly with fiber art. Conklin said part of Marino’s style includes putting a modern spin on traditional pieces of art.
“She does a lot of quilting and fiber artwork,” he said. “She takes a lot of older, well-known paintings and reconstructs them using modern commercial fabric. It’s a really interesting take on how you can interpret art.”
In addition, Conklin said Marino is planning to visit Bonaventure later in the semester to hold a discussion about her artwork. He said the QCA wants to make an effort to introduce a contemporary artist into its modern art gallery each semester.
The final exhibit will showcase artwork that parallels the theme shown at the QCA this season. Conklin said the QCA has focused some of its efforts on highlighting different artists and works associated with New York State.
“We have a collection on loan from Fordham University,” he said. “The theme (in the QCA) this year is called ‘Celebrate New York,’ so it’s basically lithographs of the Hudson River area done by Jacques Milbert. It’s this interesting thing about how other people saw the development of America.”
Conklin said it’s important to switch up the exhibits in the QCA to keep the campus community interested in what it has to offer. He said moving exhibits around and constructing new exhibits gives viewers a refreshing artistic perspective.
“We have this great building that people walk through everyday, so if they see the same stuff all the time, it really deters them from coming into the galleries themselves,” he said.
Conklin looks forward to the upcoming season at the QCA, and said he is eager for the campus community to experience all the new exhibits have to offer.
