Last modified: Tuesday, August 10, 2010
SoFA Gallery to present 'Nature Narratives' by IU Professor Emeritus Bonnie Sklarski
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Aug. 10, 2010
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The School of Fine Arts (SoFA) Gallery at Indiana University will present "Anatomy, Botany, Geology: Nature Narratives" by Bonnie Sklarski, an IU professor emeritus who joined the faculty in 1970.
Lakes of Band-I-Amir, Afghanistan, 1979 (oil on canvas)
This exhibition opens September 3 (Friday), and continues through October 8 (Friday). Sklarski will lecture about her work September 3 at 5:30 p.m. in Fine Arts 015. An opening reception for the exhibition will follow from 7-9 p.m. at the School of Fine Arts Gallery, and all events are free and open to the public.
"Nature Narratives" features paintings from Sklarski's 40 years of representational work, of both the human figure, and plant life and geology. Sklarski was an instrumental figure in IU's Henry Radford Hope School of Fine Arts painting program. She describes her recent work as "complex compositions of plants and animals done from a close, minute study of found specimens."
"A retrospective exhibition is like a crime scene," Sklarski said. "There are many clues and many questions. My retrospective is a privileged opportunity to highlight what are the deepest, most challenging questions I have lived with. From science to poetic narrative, I have tried to be fearless in my study and true to my natural curiosity."
Her curiosity and passion for observational painting has enabled her to paint scenes of the outdoors -- "en plein air" -- throughout the world.
Sklarski is the recipient of the IU President's Award for Teaching for developing the Anatomy for the Artist course, which she taught for 30 years.
She has an extensive exhibition record in New York City and Philadelphia. As an early member of the figurative movement of the '60s and '70s, she was a part of accrediting the New York Academy of Art in 1988. Currently, Sklarski is completing a series of portraits of distinguished Indiana alumni.
For more information about the artist and her work, visit https://bonniesklarski.com/.
