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'The Power of 2' opens in Flaten

Mara Fink '11
November 4, 2008

WillisPrint1
Detail from #31 (2006) by John Willis.
A new art exhibit, "The Power of 2: Drawing and Dialogue," will open this week at the Flaten Art Museum in Dittmann Center at St. Olaf College. The exhibit, which runs through Dec. 7, features the work of Connecticut artists Joseph Byrne, a painter and director of the studio arts program at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., and John Willis, a printmaker and professor at the Hartford Art School. The show, which will open with a gallery reception Friday, Nov. 7, 7-9 p.m., is free and open to the public.

The artists will make a public presentation about their work Thursday, Nov. 6, at 7 p.m.

The exhibit is the end result of a six-year dialogue between the two artists that focused on the importance of drawing in their art-making process. During this period Byrne and Willis met about once every three weeks to draw together and talk about each other's drawings or, more generally, about the drawing process. After completing a session, each artist would take the other's work home to "live with it" until their next meeting. They say that this has allowed their artwork itself to start to converse over time, and that -- although one artist is representational and the other more abstract -- they've learned just how much they share as well.

About Flaten Art Museum
The Flaten Art Museum is located in Dittmann Center on the St. Olaf campus. Visitor parking is available in the adjacent lot. The museum is open Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and Saturdays and Sundays from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Contact David Gonnerman at 507-786-3315 or gonnermd@stolaf.edu.