Arts and Entertainment

'Ideas! Ideas! Ideas!' exhibit on display in HUB-Robeson Center

A detail of Jim Drain’s installation in the HUB-Robeson Center. Join us at 3 p.m. on April 7 in the Flex Theater for an artist talk and reception to follow.  Credit: Jim DrainAll Rights Reserved.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The HUB-Robeson Galleries presents "Ideas! Ideas! Ideas!" by artist Jim Drain. The exhibit is on view in the wall case located on the first floor of the HUB-Robeson Center through May 3.

The Miami-based artist will give a lecture as part of the School of Visual Arts Anderson Lecture Series in Flex Theater, HUB-Robeson Center at 3 p.m. on April 7. A reception will follow.   

According to Drain, his work uses dazzling camouflage patterns to simultaneously mask and amplify the exhibit space. The patterns connect and disconnect optically as viewers approach the case. Both inviting and obfuscating, peering through the pattern viewers find pairs of static hand gestures nestled in fur along with a lone figure. The figure, perhaps Edvard Munchs’ screamer, stares into an endless dumb, numb, void. This playful, maximalist installation brings form to subconscious experiences.

Drain was one of two recipients of the 2005 Baloise Prize and was recently recognized along with artist Bhakti Baxter for creating “best public art projects in the nation” by Americans for the Arts in 2015. Drain and artist Naomi Fisher have received numerous grants for their artist-run space, BFI; most notably two from the Knight Foundation (2008, 2012). Drain is represented by Nathalie Karg Gallery, New York and recently completed the solo exhibition, "Zapf Wingdings," at Nina Johnson Gallery, Miami.

The Anderson Lecture Series sponsors leading artists and scholars who lecture, give master-class workshops, and critique student work throughout the academic year. Lectures are free and open to the public.

The HUB-Robeson Center wall case is viewable daily during HUB-Robeson Center hours.

For more information on this and other exhibitions, contact the HUB-Robeson Galleries at 814-865-2563, or visit studentaffairs.psu.edu/hub/art-galleries.

Last Updated February 19, 2020