Galveston Arts Center is pleased to present three exhibitions exploring the recurring themes of repetition and nature in a variety of mixed-media works of art. An opening reception will be hosted during ArtWalk on Saturday, April 12, from 6 to 9 pm. A gallery talk with curator Clint Willour and the artists will be held for GAC members beginning at 5 pm. The exhibitions will remain on view through May 18, 2008. GAC exhibitions are free and open to the public.

In Profusion + Multiplicity, New Mexico-based artist Julia Barello uses exposed X-ray and MRI film as the basis for her mural-sized installations. The artist began using X-ray film as a material as a graduate student, recycling medical images that were incorrectly processed and therefore earmarked for destruction. Choosing areas of each one that she found interesting, Barello “dissected” the film by die cutting it into abstract flower, bird, or leaf figures. The artist attaches these shapes directly to the wall using large steel pins, sometimes stacking different shapes or colors on one pin, or alternately using pins of varying length. While the works are wall-dependent, the individual shapes hover above it, casting shadows that enliven and add an extra visual layer. “This tension between a body-focused material and beyond-the-body subject matter synopsizes [my] two primary intentions,” writes Barello, “to remind us of our physical beings and concomitant frailties and mortality, and involve us in our surroundings to the point that we extend beyond the corporeal.” Barello received an MFA in 1992 from the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee and a BA in studio art from Western Washington University in Bellingham in 1985. She currently teaches jewelry and metalsmithing at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces.

Nestor Topchy: Pysanky… features the work of Houston-based artist Nestor Topchy who creates contemporary works rooted in the ancient techniques of traditional Byzantine icon painting and Ukranian egg decorating. Topchy learned to paint icons in the Novgorod (or Byzantine) method—using egg tempera, applying thin transparent coats of pure pigment suspended in water with egg yolk and vinegar in three layers—while studying at the Prosopon School of the Russian Orthodox Cathedral in New York. He decorated pysanky with his family as a child. The pysanka is an Ukranian Easter egg that is created by drawing or writing a design in wax, then dying the egg, in a technique similar to batik. The artist has incorporated aspects of both of these traditions into his work, painting scenes reminiscent of classical works by Giotto or Russian religious icons combined with eggs decorated with ancient Ukranian patterns and textile designs. The exhibition will be on view during the Eastern Orthodox celebration of Easter on April 27. Topchy was born in Summerville, New Jersey and earned a BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore in 1985 and an MFA from the University of Houston in 1987.

Using a variety of materials including book pages, vellum, thread, old photographs and found objects, Houston-based artist Lisa Qualls explores issues of ethnicity and heritage in her multi-media pieces. Growing up in Baton Rouge, the artist was familiar with the fierce sense of pride inherent in those around her who were of Italian, French, African or Spanish heritage. “I was curious about ethnicity and how all these groups blended together,” states Qualls. Focusing on Houston’s black community during the late 1800s and early 1900s, the artist has titled her project Breaking Ground, referencing that period of rapid growth and change that laid the foundation for the future of the community. Qualls received a BFA from The University of Texas at Austin in 1988. She was a recent recipient of an Individual Artists Grant Award funded by the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance and was an artist in residence at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft.

All exhibitions have been organized by Clint Willour, Curator, for the Galveston Arts Center. The exhibitions open with a reception from 6 to 9 pm, during ArtWalk—Galveston’s free evening in celebration of the visual arts—which is held on Saturday evenings approximately eight times a year. Galleries, restaurants and other businesses open their doors to host artists from all over the world and welcome visitors. Most locations are within walking distance in Galveston’s charming Historic Downtown District. The popular event has now expanded to other locations on the island. For more than 18 years, the Galveston Arts Center has organized ArtWalk to promote the visual arts, offer alternative spaces to see and learn about art and to welcome visitors and residents to the island’s open art community. A brochure with a map and information on participating venues will be available at GAC’s front desk.

All exhibitions are free and open to the public. GAC is open Tuesday through Saturday, 11 am to 5 pm, and Sunday, 12 noon to 5 pm, and closed on Monday. For information, phone 409.763.2403 or visit www.galvestonartscenter.org. Funding for Galveston Arts Center programs is provided by The Brown Foundation, Inc.; Houston Endowment Inc., Harris and Eliza Kempner Fund, The National Endowment for the Arts, Texas Commission on the Arts, the City of Galveston through the Hotel/Motel Tax fund and generous community support, volunteers and an active membership.

About The Galveston Arts Center...