The Mattie Kelly Arts Center Galleries at Northwest Florida State College concludes its 2011-2012 season with two exciting shows on display from June 25 through July 20. The McIlroy Gallery will host Duane Paxson’s new body of work, the Ivory Tower series. And back by popular demand, the Holzhauer Gallery will feature Salvador Dalí’s series of woodblock prints illustrating Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy.
In his Ivory Tower series, Paxson incorporates wood, metal cage-like forms, and synthetic materials to create sculptures that investigate structures of power. His works call on the viewer to think about how power and influence are wielded in a variety of forums: government, professional life, family and gender relations, among others. As a special treat for families, in addition to his Ivory Tower series, NWFSC will also exhibit Paxson’s large scale installation, Jelly Bean Angels. The piece is accompanied by an illustrated narrative and very popular with children.
Duane Paxson will give an Artist Talk on Thursday, June 28, at 1:00 p.m. in the McIlroy Gallery. The public is invited to meet the artist and learn about his work.
In the Holzhauer Gallery, Salvador Dalí’s suite of 100 prints -- commissioned by the Italian government in the early 1950s to commemorate the upcoming septuacentennial of the poet’s birth -- presents a Surrealist vision of Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy. Each of the 100 cantos describing Dante’s travels to Inferno, Purgatory and Paradise is illustrated by a woodblock based on (now lost) original watercolors by Dalí. Though shown in part and in other venues, the series has not been exhibited in total at the Mattie Kelly Arts Center in over a decade.
Don’t miss this rare opportunity to see an important part of NWFSC’s Permanent Collection alongside new work from an Alabama artist with an international reputation. The galleries are open Monday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., and 90 minutes prior to Mainstage and Sprint Theater productions, including the summer musical The Wiz (running July 18-21). The galleries are always free and open to the public.