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Evangel University to display art inspired by classics in the National Gallery of Art

Published on Aug 31, 2015 by Kameron Nettleton

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Evangel University Humanities Department presents Silver: 25 prints in response to works in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

This exhibit is on display in the Fine Art & Design Gallery, in the Barnett Fine Arts Center, which faces Glenstone Ave., just south of the Spence Chapel.

Admission is free. The gallery is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the display will be up until September 25.

The suite of 25 prints was created to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Christians in the Visual Arts (CIVA). Silver is the sixth in CIVA’s Codex Series, which has been ongoing since 1994.

CIVA formed as an organization in 1979 to bring together those interested in the intersection of art and the Christian faith.

Each of these artists chose a work in the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and created an original contemporary work based on the earlier work. Evangel University acquired this suite of prints from CIVA several years ago and now invites the public to enjoy them.

“I was pleased that Evangel University thought it worthwhile to invest in these works,” said Michael Buesking, associate professor of art at Evangel. “It shows a commitment to making strong visual work accessible to the art students, as well as support for the idea of integrating art and faith.”

The collection includes works by Makoto Fujimura, Timothy Sheesley, Edward Knippers, Donald Forsythe and the late Guy M. Chase.

Also included is a work by the former president of CIVA, Sandra Bowden: a collagraph with embossing done in response to one of Barnett Newman’s Canto series.

Of these artists, Forsythe, Chase and Bowden have each visited the Evangel University campus in former years as Artist Series speakers and have addressed the student body during chapel.

“The show is instructive on a couple of different levels,” Buesking said. “Not only do we have the creative work of several contemporary Christian artists, but we also have the opportunity to assess the way they responded to the earlier works.”

For additional information, contact Michael Buesking at (417) 865-2815, ext. 7281.