Celebrating its 85th birthday, the University of Delaware Department of Art is presenting “Four Score and Five: The 2001-2002 Art Department Faculty Exhibit” from April 9-21 in the University Gallery in Old College.

A special reception for the University community and the public will be held from 4:30-6:30 p.m., Wednesday, April 10.

The roots of the art department can be traced to the Women’s College of Delaware in 1916-17, but there was no art department listed in the catalogs of either Delaware College for men or the Women’s College until 1935-36, according to exhibition coordinator, Larry Holmes, professor of art.

In 1944, the UD Department of Fine and Applied Arts came into being, with art history becoming a separate department in 1965-66.

According to acting chairperson Suzanne Austin Alchon, professor of history, the 85th birthday exhibition “is a wonderful opportunity for us to celebrate the many individuals and events that have contributed to making this department a vibrant center for the visual arts on the UD campus and beyond.”

As she pointed out, members of the fine arts faculty were invited to participate in more than 30 exhibitions throughout the United States, New Zealand and Italy during 2001, and the visual communications faculty also participated in a variety of projects and exhibitions throughout the United States and 18 other countries.

The 2002 exhibition will differ from past faculty art shows, which have displayed only recent works of art, by including earlier works representing each decade an artist has been at the University, Holmes said.

The talents of the faculty will be represented by wide range of art works, including printmaking, ceramics, photography, painting, sculpture, fiber art, book making and design.

In his introduction to the exhibition, Holmes points out that faculty members are “nationally and internationally prominent as artists and designers. They have exhibited and worked in locations throughout the world. They are multiple winners of the National Endowment for the Arts fellowships, various state and regional artists’ fellowships and a wealth of awards, grants and residencies. Their works are found in important private, corporate and museum collections on three continents, and they have been widely written about in the art press.”
The following artists will have works displayed in the exhibition:

Amalia K. Amaki, assistant professor, photography-based mixed media;

Randy C. Bolton, professor, printmaking;

Hilton Brown, Harriet T. Baily Professor of Art Conservation, painting;

Martha Carothers, professor, book art;

William Deering, assistant professor, photography;

Hendrik-Jan Francke, assistant professor, graphic design;

Larry Holmes, professor, painting ;

Vera E. Kaminski, associate professor, fiber art;

Rosemary Lane, professor, printmaking;

René J. Marquez, assistant professor, painting;

David Meyer, assistant professor, sculpture;

Raymond Nichols, professor, advertising design;

Robyn Phillips-Pendleton, assistant professor, illustration;

Priscilla A. Smith, associate professor, photography;

Victor Spinski, professor, ceramics;

Robert Straight, professor, painting; and

John Weiss, professor, photography.

For additional information, call 831-8242, fax 831-8251 or visit the University Gallery online at http://www.museums.udel.edu.

Story by Sue Moncure

Photographs by Kathy Flickinger

March 25, 2002