STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — "Homecoming," a solo exhibition by Rebecca Morgan, opens at the Woskob Family Gallery on Nov. 16 and runs through Dec. 21. The opening reception will be held 5-7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 16.
Featuring ceramics, paintings, and works on paper by the Clearfield, Pennsylvania native, and spanning several years and bodies of work, the exhibition brings home Morgan’s work, showing it close to where she grew up for the first time. Included are portraits of the artist, her loved ones, and a cast of characters both naturalistic and cartooned.
Through a range of media and stylistic conventions, Morgan explores her rural origins, the inhabitants of her hometown, and the popularly held stereotypes about them. The artist places herself both as part of and at a critical distance from her subjects. Influenced by traditions as varied as Brueghel, face jug pottery, and Mad Comics, she spans and conflates an array of divides including class, culture, geography and politics. Questioning who looks at whom — and from what point of view — "Homecoming" brings to the forefront how the position from which something or someone is observed can make other aspects invisible.
In partnership with the Penn State Drawing and Painting Club, Morgan will give a public talk about her work from 7 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 15, in room 315 of the Visual Arts Building. An opening reception will be held at the gallery from 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 16. All events are free and open to the public.
Morgan received a bachelor of arts degree from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania and a master of fine arts degree from Pratt Institute, New York. Press for her work includes Time Out New York, ARTnews, Whitehot Magazine, Beautiful Decay, Artslant, Juxtapoz Magazine, the Huffington Post and Berlin's Lodown Magazine, among others. She is the recipient of a residency at the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, the Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts Residency, a Vermont Studio Center full fellowship, and the George Rickey Residency at Yaddo.
The Woskob Family Gallery is a contemporary art space in downtown State College that brings a cohesive and carefully curated program of exhibitions and events to central Pennsylvania. Run by Penn State’s College of Arts and Architecture, the gallery serves as a laboratory for exploring how the arts can catalyze creative placemaking. The Woskob Family Gallery is located at 146 South Allen Street in State College.
Gallery hours are 9 a.m.–4 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m.–2 p.m. on Saturdays. For more information, please contact Curatorial Assistant Lindsey Landfried at lll166@psu.edu, or visit woskobfamilygallery.psu.edu.