Transparency has long been a rich and dynamic concept in art, representing clarity, openness, and the revealing of hidden truths. From glass sculpture, to watercolor, to layered collage, artists have utilized transparency to challenge perceptions and provoke deeper contemplation in their audiences. Transparency opened at the Mary Cosgrove Dolphin Gallery of Worcester State University on Thursday, January 23, and will run through Saturday, February 22.
The exhibition hosts artwork from Worcester-area artists and some of Worcester State University’s own students.
Among the Worcester State students is Donna Church, whose artwork “Good Morning” takes inspiration from an assignment in a visual arts class at the university. “We were told to find a bunch of stuff in our environment and paint it, as opposed to arranging the ideal still-life,” Church explained. “I was attracted to the challenge presented by the reflective stainless coffee pot, the clear glass carafe, and the translucent green vegetable bag all clustered on the early morning kitchen counter.”
Church said the vast diversity of work in the exhibition is now “inspiring me to make deeper explorations into transparency and reflection” as a student and an artist.
“Shattered Echoes,” an oil painting by Worcester-area artist Joseph Ray, is featured as the poster image for the exhibition. “I depict images of decaying stumps and fallen trees, contrasted with the vibrant flora that manages to thrive amidst them,” according to Ray. “My paintings are designed to evoke a dreamlike atmosphere, inviting contemplation and reflection.”
Transparency was juried by Worcester State University’s own Stacey Parker and Brad Chapman Bleau.
Parker is director of the Mary Cosgrove Dolphin Gallery and a professor in the Visual and Performing Arts Department, where she teaches fine art studio classes, interdisciplinary classes, and thesis classes. She is also a multimedia artist. In her own art practice, she tries to make work that connects with people, draws people in, asks questions, starts conversations, and becomes something more than what she puts into it.
Chapman Bleau is curator of the gallery and an adjunct professor of art. An illustrator, painter, sculptor, and printmaker, he has exhibited his work in numerous galleries and museums across Massachusetts, winning several awards, including the Sara Parker painting prize during Fitchburg Art Museum’s 85th Annual Regional Exhibition of Art and Craft. He also received third place overall at the 88th exhibition, as well as ArtsWorcester’s Material Needs Grant in 2022.
Worcester State Visual and Performing Arts’ Mary Cosgrove Dolphin Gallery offers five main exhibits interspersed with shorter-term events throughout the year. The gallery invites artists in all stages of their careers along with our faculty and students to exhibit works that explore the established, edgy, and innovative ideas in the artistic world. The gallery’s mission is to contribute to the cultural offerings of the region by exhibiting work of vitality and interest in the contemporary art world.
The gallery is open on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information regarding upcoming exhibitions and art offerings, contact the gallery at Gallery@worcester.edu or 508-929-8651, or go to wsuvpagallery.com.
Top image: A detail of “Shattered Echoes” by Joseph Ray
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