Exhibits planned at Pitt State this spring

Art enthusiasts will have multiple opportunities this spring to view exhibitions and attend receptions in Porter Hall, home to Pittsburg State University’s Art Department and its two galleries.  

The Harry Krug Gallery is open from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Friday. The University Gallery is open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

All exhibits and receptions are free and open to the public. For more information, call 620-235-4302. 

“Private Domain: Painting and Painting Constructions” 

Artist: Virginia Derryberry 

Location: University Gallery – Porter Hall 

Display: Jan. 22 – March 14  

Virginia Derryberry, a professor of art emeritus at the University of North Carolina, has earned numerous awards, fellowships, and grants — including the Grand Prize Award at the 2017 Pinnacle National Juried Exhibition and the Distinguished Teaching of Art Award from the College Art Association. Her work is featured in public, corporate, and private collections.  

For nearly a decade, Derryberry has been honing her craft on two separate pieces: Private Domain and Artifactual Series. The first presents mythological and alchemical narratives placed within contemporary settings, while the second incorporates fabric and collage elements, using remnants and abstraction to metaphorically “put the pieces back together again.” Together, they pieces invite viewers to ask questions, interpret meaning, and form individual connections with the art.  

“Faculty Exhibition” 

Location: Harry Krug Gallery – Porter Hall 

Reception: Thursday, Feb. 19, 5-7 p.m. 

Display: Jan. 20 – March 4 

This annual exhibition showcases the varied works of Pittsburg State University Art Department faculty members, highlighting a diverse range of techniques and perspectives. 

“Musing” 

Artist: Marie Hines Cowan  

Location: Harry Krug Gallery – Porter Hall 

Reception: Thursday, April 3, 5-7 p.m.  

Display: March 11 – April 3 

Since 1979, Marie Hines Cowan has been exhibiting nationally and internationally in group and solo exhibits. She is sought after for not only her bold and colorful works, but also her voice, speaking for The Artist Forum TV, various radio programs, Yales 2014 Women in Leadership Conference, podcasts, and exhibition talks. Her work has been featured in symposiums created by art scholars and in books about Greek mythology.  

She earned her art degree from the Fashion Institute of Technology and is known for her life-size, narrative, representational pieces that move beyond realism. Combing the graphic qualities of commercial art with traditional paintings, she transcended the flatness of her canvas, creating three-dimensional installations of her paintings. The result: room-sized graphic novels in which artwork and sculptural text extend off the walls and into the viewer’s space. 

“Primary Trances” 

Artist: Richard Alpert 

Location: University Gallery – Porter Hall 

Reception: Wednesday, March 25, 5-7 p.m.  

Display: March 11 – May 18  

Richard Alpert is known for his work with sculptures, abstract film, and performance-based art. He is a recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts Artist Fellowship Grant, with many of his pieces being featured in galleries across the world.  

Alpert’s work reflects the playful curiosity about the physical world and encompasses a wide variety of ideas and techniques — including performance, video, installation, painting, drawing, photography, and object sculpture. Through the use of gradations of color and form, repeated patterns and geometric structures, he constructs his ideas into immersive work that engage both visual and auditory senses.   

He earned his undergraduate degree in studio arts from the University of Pittsburgh and his MFA in sculpture from the San Francisco Art Institute.  

“Senior Exhibit”  

Location: Harry Krug Gallery – Porter Hall 

Reception: To be announced 

Display: April 11 – May 16 

This exhibition features work by graduating seniors in the Art Department, representing the culmination of their academic and creative development at Pittsburg State University. More details will be announced this spring.