Kohl Gallery Exhibit Features Multi-Media Work by New Studio-Art Faculty at the College

A still from a Benjamin Bellas landscape video. 

Heather Harvey's "Stretched Membrane," 2012, in plaster, fiberglass,  and acrylic.

CHESTERTOWN, MD—The Kohl Gallery at Washington College showcases the work of two new studio-art professors in an exhibition opening Friday, August 24.  “What Comes Later,” featuring multimedia works by Heather Harvey and Benjamin Bellas, will run through September 16. A reception with the artists, both members of the Art and Art History Department, will be held Friday, August 31, from 5 to 7 p.m. Both the exhibition and the reception are free and open to the public.

            Bellas works in photography, video, sculpture and performance and has exhibited his work around the globe, from Istanbul and Hong Kong to Los Angeles and Chicago. He earned a degree in studio arts from the University of Pittsburgh and an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he has also taught as a member of the faculty in the Contemporary Practices Department.

            Bellas, who begins teaching this fall, says he is “honored and excited” to be joining the faculty at Washington College.  “The exhibition will be, first and foremost, an opportunity for the community to familiarize themselves with the work of Professor Harvey and myself,” he adds. “My hope is that it may also facilitate a dialogue within the community regarding the state of the visual arts at Washington College and beyond, past, present, and future.”

            Harvey, who finished her first year of teaching at the College with the Spring 2012 semester, says she was drawn to the opportunity of being in a small art department where she could have a big impact. She adds that she is energized by the atmosphere on a liberal arts campus.  

            “Artists work with science, philosophy, poetry, music, psychology, politics, and the natural world,” she explains.  “So, an interdisciplinary approach is the natural state for most artists, and certainly for me.  Interactions with colleagues, students, and visiting scholars are one of the primary pleasures of being part of an academic community.”

            Harvey, who received her MFA in painting and printmaking from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2007, began her career with paintings, drawings, and some digital work and has since moved towards a hybrid form of two-dimensional art and sculpture. This past January, Harvey's work was included in the group show “Re-Generation” at The Painting Center in New York.

             “We are very pleased to feature our two new studio-art faculty in the exhibit,” says Patrice DiQuinzio, associate provost and director of the Kohl Gallery.  “Their work is very thought provoking, and I’m sure the community will really enjoy it.”

         The Kohl Gallery is open Wednesday through Sunday, 1 to 6 p.m. and closed Monday and Tuesday. For more information, visit http://kohlgallery.washcoll.edu/.