APPLETON, WIS. – Madison sculptor Aristotle Georgiades, who specializes in human-scale size works, delivers the opening lecture for the latest exhibition at Lawrence University’s Wriston Art Center galleries Friday, Sept. 25 at 6 p.m. A reception with the artist follows the address. The exhibition runs through Oct. 20.
Georgiades’ exhibition, “Accidentally on Purpose,” features salvaged materials as well as existing objects that have been repurposed into expressive sculptural forms. Made from common materials, his sculptures reference people’s continuous desire to move through life with purpose.
“I see these repurposed objects as a metaphor for our human need to adapt and change directions when confronted with obstacles or failures,” said Georgiades, a professor of sculpture in the art department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His work will be shown in the Kohler gallery.
Sama Alshaibi, a native Palestinian-Iraqi woman who moved to the United States as a young girl, reveals her conflicting heritage in the Hoffmaster gallery exhibition “SUMOUD,” which translates to “steadfastness.”
A photographer and assistant professor of art at the University of Arizona, Alshiabi uses photography and film to explore notions of exile, war, forced migration and female identity in trying to identify with a history she feels disconnected with as well as honor and continue a legacy she has been denied.
The Leech gallery features “Portraits from the Permanent Collection,” a selection of works from the Wriston galleries’ holdings, including three Paul Strand photogravures of Mexican peasants from the 1930s. Representing a variety of media, the exhibition looks at the ways portraits can be both a visual and psychological representation of a sitter’s character.
Wriston Art Center hours are Tuesday-Friday from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., Saturday-Sunday from noon – 4 p.m. The gallery is closed on Mondays. For more information, call 920-832-6621.
