Ernesto Deira, Canto oh diosa de la cólera, 1985, color lithograph, 149/199, 19” x 24”, Collection of the Inter American Development Bank, Washington, DC.

Art Gallery Presents Latin American Graphics and Contemporary Paintings and Sculptures
 
Paintings, sculptures, and installations by four Northeastern artists and prints by 39 Latin American graphic artists are showcased in two exhibitions opening at The Art Gallery, UNH, Nov. 3. 

Networks and Intersections: Finding Meaning through Complexity and Latin American Graphics: The Evolution of Identity from the Mythical to the Personal run though Dec. 12. A preview reception, open to the public, will be held Wednesday, Nov. 2, from 5 to 7 p.m.
 
Networks and Intersections: Finding Meaning through Complexity highlights works by contemporary artists Elizabeth Duffy, Louise Hamlin, Duncan Johnson, and Esmé Thompson. Each artist’s work utilizes patterned visual systems such as webs of line, repetition of marks, or woven grids, to create complex design structures. Meaning is found in these works when the complicated networks are perceived as a unified image.
 
Sculptor Elizabeth Duffy (Brooklyn) shapes everyday, discarded materials into larger sculptural forms, highlighting the creative potential of the materials. Painter and pastel artist Louise Hamlin (Norwich, VT) explores the synthesis of orange and green plastic fencing and the impressionist patterns of light and color in the natural landscape. Sculptor Duncan Johnson (Hartford, VT) uses natural wood and a network of tiny nails to produce serene sculptures marked by the intricacy of detailed execution. Painter Esmé Thompson (West Lebanon) focuses on the patterns found in nature and man-made designs, finding common ground between “high art” and decoration, between the creative process and the evolving patterns of organic growth.
 
Running concurrently is the exhibition Latin American Graphics: The Evolution of Identity from the Mythical to the Personal. Featuring works by 39 graphic artists from countries throughout Central and South America, this exhibition surveys the evolution of Latin American prints from the mid-20th century to the present. The exhibition provides valuable insight into how these artists have moved from a concern for ancestral traditions and cultural identity to a more personal identification as contemporary artists within the global community.
 
The exhibition demonstrates Latin America’s significant accomplishments in the field of printmaking and the use of graphic arts as a viable art form, recognized for its power to reach all levels of society. The evolution of the medium is showcased through the works of printmakers Rufino Tamayo, Wifredo Lam, Roberto Sebastián Matta, Raul Recio, and Francisco Zúñiga, among others. The exhibition is organized by the Museum of Latin American Art, Long Beach, and is circulated by Curatorial Assistance Traveling Exhibitions (CATE), Los Angeles. Bilingual wall labels are included and a 68-page illustrated catalogue, with an essay by exhibition curator Félix Angel, is available for purchase.
 
ArtBreak Series: Wednesdays at noon
 
Nov.  9
Slide Lecture/Gallery Walk: Painter Esmé Thompson discusses the philosophy, processes, and influences that shaped her works on view in the exhibition Networks and Intersections: Finding Meaning through Complexity. Room A219
 
Nov. 16
Concert: Capella Alamire performs secular music by the “divine Alexander” (Alexander Agricola, 1445-1506). Led by Peter Urquhart, associate professor of music, UNH. The Art Gallery
 
Nov. 30
Slide Lecture/Gallery Walk: Painter Louise Hamlin and sculptor Elizabeth Duffy discuss their work, including those on view in the exhibition Networks and Intersections: Finding Meaning through Complexity. Room A219
 
Dec.  7
Slide Lecture: Francis McCann, professor of history, UNH, discusses Latin American culture. Presented in collaboration with the exhibition Latin American Graphics: The Evolution of Identity from the Mythical to the Personal. Room A219