The Penn State Berks Freyberger Gallery will present the group exhibition "Paper Trails" from March 26 to April 23. There will be an opening reception at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 26. Mark Mahosky, one of the artists featured in the exhibition and assistant professor of painting at Kutztown University, will provide an informal talk at the reception. This event is free and open to the public, and light refreshments will be served.
Curated by Emily Branch, "Paper Trails" focuses on artists using reclaimed fibers, including paper, photographs, and plant material. In an age of “throwaway products” and an increased commitment to sustainability (and the need to re-commission post-consumer products as reusable fodder for art and other uses), this exhibit explores the variety and inventiveness of those who are willing to try.
Four Pennsylvania artists selected by Branch will exhibit new work using reclaimed fibers. The artists include: Jim Bloom, Philadelphia; Mark Mahosky, Mifflinburg; Mike Miller, Reading; and Georgette Veeder, Adamstown.
Bloom’s portraits or scenes often evoke film stills loaded with information about the subjects depicted, telling stories with biting wit and irony, often incorporating text. Bloom explores artistic images that function like television, capturing the eye and quickly conveying a message or feeling that will leave a lasting impact on the viewer.
Color, geometry and scale are crucial to Mahosky. His paintings, created on materials ranging from expansive bolts of burlap to single sheets of newspaper, employ rich linear and cubic patterns rendered in bright, contrasting hues. Mahosky distills his scavenging into a uniquely raw aesthetic. His support of choice for his paintings is the detritus of history itself -- newspapers (many of which were acquired when he was a visiting professor in Russia in 2007).
Primarily constructed with vintage snapshots and 20th-century cultural ephemera, Miller’s work is concerned with the psychological response to symbols and imagery rearranged and far removed from their original context.
Veeder’s sculptural art made from cast paper pulp represents a fascination with the topography of landscape, full of complex lines, shapes, colors, and textures. With forced perspective, she invites the viewer’s eye to enter her landscape as geological and archeological planes intersect alternately.
The Freyberger Gallery is open Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and Saturday and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. For more information, contact Marilyn Fox, gallery director, at 610-396-6140 or via email at mjf14@psu.edu.