Transylvania University’s Morlan Gallery is participating in an artistic collaboration with partners who are both international and right down the street.
“Tropiciele/Pathfinders,” an exhibition of works on paper, features pieces by faculty at Transylvania, the University of Kentucky and the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow, Poland. Both Transy and UK are showcasing the prints in the Morlan and Bolivar galleries through Feb. 23.
On Wednesday, a group of the artists from Poland will give a talk in Transylvania’s Carrick Theater at 5:30 p.m., and UK has a similar event planned for Friday.
Morlan director Anthony Mead contributed artwork to the show, as did Transylvania professors Kurt Gohde and Zoé Strecker. Their pieces were combined into portfolios with the other artists’ prints, and these were given to all participants (one will go into Transylvania’s permanent collection).
Mead, who is a printmaker, traveled to Poland last year as part of the project with UK faculty who spearheaded it.
During the visit, they presented their works to faculty and students at the Academy of Fine Arts and discussed topics such the schools’ different approaches to education. For instance, the academy focuses pretty much on art as opposed to Transylvania’s interdisciplinary, liberal arts approach.
Mead and the UK faculty also visited cultural sites like the National Museum in Krakow, cathedrals and a salt mine filled with sculptures. He said he was struck by the sense of history in Poland and was reminded of the global impact we have on each other.
“One of the great powers of art is our ability to create community,” whether that be across town or overseas, Mead continued. “Being engaged in worldwide conversations is important.”
“Tropiciele/Pathfinders” also looks at the way artists solve problems differently — how they respond to various processes and media to realize the finished piece, he said.
The works range from “contemporary applications of traditional media to the integration of technologies like robotic drawing machines,” according to Morlan Gallery. “Seemingly nothing unites the areas of artistic expression of individual authors — but it is a testimony to the attitudes of searching for their place in the current reality.”
In fact, the word “Pathfinders” (“tropiciele” in Polish) in the title points to a search, to not having a single path of artistic expression.
Get info on Morlan Gallery hours and parking, and check out the UK show.
Top photo: Morlan director Anthony Mead takes part in a print exchange at the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow, Poland.