The Department of Art and Design at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff will host a reception for a joint art exhibit featuring alumni Mark Payne and Rashawn Penister.
The reception will be held at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 27, in the Leedell Moorehead-Graham gallery of the Hathaway-Howard Fine Arts building at UAPB.
“Payne’s exhibit, ‘Portals,’ is conceptual with a mix of two and three-dimensional pieces. He paints on canvas and wood constructions,” according to a news release. “His content focuses on finding compressions and complexities of form and meaning.”
Payne is currently an art instructor in the Department of Art and Design at UAPB.
“In my present work, hollow forms such as squares, circles and triangles full of vibrant or pale colors become visual and mental entries,” he said. “In a way, the recognizable and meditative symbology of these shapes acts as an outer, initial impression.”
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“While simple or relatable, the physical manifestations of these intuitive worlds detour interpretation. In the end, these near-impressions, these almost-understandings are interactions that connect the art to you,” he said.
In the end, aren’t we all connected, products of bits and pieces?” Payne asked.
Penister is an art teacher in the Pine Bluff School District and uses playing cards as collage elements to represent choices made in life, according to the release.
Penister’s exhibit, “Life’s a Card Game,” is a mix of abstract and portraiture which focused on life’s struggle and achievement, according to the release.
“The lines symbolize the freedom to create your own path in life,” Penister said. “The colors are used as expressions of taking pain and struggle from life, changing it into a work of art, and communicating a message of confidence to people who are struggling with life’s problems.”