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The
Jacob Spori Gallery’s inaugural art exhibit
“Legacy of Light – The Influence of Impressionism” will
open Friday, Sept. 12, in conjunction with the Spori Building’s
open house from 4-8 p.m.
The
exhibit will feature various paintings and sculptures gathered from
BYU-Idaho’s own private collection, the Museum
of Church History and Art in Salt
Lake City, the BYU Museum of Art in Provo,
Utah, and Springville Museum of Art in Springville,
Utah.
The
exhibit will run through Dec. 19 and feature more than 40 works of art
showing the influence that impressionism has had on various artists through
the years.
Gallery
director Gerald Griffin says an interesting aspect of this exhibit is a
group of historical paintings by Latter-day Saint artists from the 1800s.
The
artists were sent by Brigham Young to study art in Paris
and later returned to paint murals in temples. While in Paris,
the artists were influenced by impressionistic art, a relatively
ground-breaking form of art at the time.
Since
the old art gallery was no more than a hallway in the old Spori building, many valuable and rare paintings in
BYU-Idaho’s collection have been tucked away in storage due to the
lack of a secure facility, Griffin
says.
A section of the gallery will feature some of these
paintings that will be displayed as a permanent master collection in the
gallery. The museum-quality artwork owned by the university features works
from a large variety artists.
Griffin
expects the new 2,200 square foot gallery, complete with a state-of-the-art
security system and its own heating, air conditioning and humidity system,
will open the door for high caliber art exhibits to
be held at BYU-Idaho in the future.
He
anticipates the gallery hosting four to five shows a year, ranging from
exhibits of work done by students and faculty to regional artists and
special interest exhibits. In January the gallery will host an exhibit of
contemporary illustrations from the Society of Illustrators in New
York City.
“We’ve
been looking forward to having this kind of facility for many years,”
Griffin says. “We hope
the public and the campus community will take advantage of the opportunity
to have this kind of quality art venue in town.”
After
Sept. 12 the gallery will be open to the public Monday through Wednesday
from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. On Thursday and Friday it will be open from 9 a.m. to 8
p.m., giving concert-goers an opportunity to view the exhibits
before performances on campus.
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