By Sana Zahra
Staff Writer
The Hutchins Gallery, located in the lower level of LIU Post’s B. Davis Schwartz Memorial Library, has several exhibitions planned for this year, ranging from works by the Art department students and faculty, to the art works of various outside artists. It is free for LIU students to visit and explore the world of art.
The current exhibitions, on display from Oct. 5 to the 30, are called “Myths of Man” and “New Contemporary Charcoal Painted Portraits” by Larry Aarons, a native New Yorker from the Bronx who works with graphite, pastels, and charcoals. Aarons has been honored with many industry awards, never abandoning his love for art. “Myths of Man,” his largest exhibition to date with over 40 pieces, shows a series of pastels that depict Greek, Roman, and African gods, as well as mythological characters.
“New Contemporary Charcoal Painted Portraits” will be a continuing evolution of “Myths of Man,” but with newer charcoal drawings. The contemporary portraits also feature a distinctive technique, which gives the effect of different skin tones looking the same at a close view.
Patricia Simpson, the administrative assistant and person in charge of the Hutchins Gallery, spoke enthusiastically about the gallery and all it has to offer. “Every year we keep [the gallery] open for [Art students’ thesis work], in November and December and in April and May. After that, it’s whoever calls or wants to come in. There is a small fee for outside artists [to portray their work, but] there are no fees for our students.”
Simpson further explained the process of selecting the artwork of an outside artist: “The library’s dean office is the one responsible for keeping track of who’s in or wants to come in [to show their work]. It usually passes through Valeda Dent (Dean, University Libraries), and [she] will then ask them to send some information on the organization, maybe some samples of the artwork, and she would say okay as long as it doesn’t interfere with the Art department.”
While the process for the outside artist is a little longer, Art department students can easily have their work displayed. “We look at their work, [and] if we feel it’s nice enough [we’ll feature it in the gallery.” Simpson continued, “We don’t want anything crazy or offensive. Usually we don’t have anything like that. Let’s say someone comes in for next June and [the gallery’s] open, more than likely they would get accepted. Each student’s work is usually in [after] about a week.”
The Hutchins Gallery is open from Tuesday to Saturday, 2 p.m. – 5 p.m., and offers free admission, unless holding special events.
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