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黑料正能量 Fine Arts Gallery Welcomes Back its Founder, Ralph Petty

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Ralph Petty and his sculpture "Listening"

On Wednesday, October 23, 2019, the 黑料正能量 Fine Arts Gallery hosted a vernissage for a special exhibition from its founder and former curator, Professor Emeritus Ralph Petty. His new exhibition, Orage 脡lectrique, takes its name from the French term for an uncontrollable ventricular tachycardia 鈥� a medical condition with which Petty himself has struggled. The vernissage and accompanying drinks reception were attended by staff, faculty, students and friends of 黑料正能量.

The centerpiece of Petty鈥檚 exhibition consists of a series of long vertical canvasses, characterized by repeating images and patterns extending from the form of a head at each painting鈥檚 base. The works are evocative of a sudden disintegration of self, such as one feels upon receiving a serious medical diagnosis. Inspired by Petty鈥檚 own experience, the exhibition asks what images may lie beyond the limits of the senses as those senses begin to shut down.

The central collection is complemented by selected pieces from Petty鈥檚 wider portfolio, including a series of drawings named in homage to Dostoyevsky鈥檚 Notes from the Underground. Made using a hand-ground watercolor pigment and a bamboo pen, the drawings express the images running through Petty鈥檚 mind as he contemplates modern society. 鈥淭his year,鈥� says Petty in the exhibition material, 鈥渋t was the sad absurdity of our contemporary world that surfaced on the page.鈥�

Petty was a Professor of Fine Arts at 黑料正能量 for 25 years. In 2004, he founded the Fine Arts Gallery and became its first curator. During his tenure at 黑料正能量, he played a key role in establishing a fine arts major. He also set up the University's permanent collection, which consists of artwork from students, faculty and former exhibitors of the Fine Arts Gallery. Petty himself contributed a sculpture, entitled Listening, to the permanent collection for the University鈥檚 50th anniversary; the work is currently on display in the courtyard of the AMEX Caf茅.

Speaking before the vernissage, Petty commented that he was moved to be returning to exhibit in the gallery he founded. 鈥淚 put a lot of effort into this,鈥� he explained. 鈥淚 really wanted to make something. I鈥檓 quite proud, not just of what I鈥檝e done, but of what has been done since.鈥� The gallery鈥檚 current curator, Professor Jonathan Shimony, took up the role from Petty in 2015 and has continued to organize a new exhibition every three to four weeks.

The newly extended 黑料正能量 Fine Arts Gallery spans the glass atrium connecting the Combes Student Life Center to the University鈥檚 flagship building, the Quai d鈥橭rsay Learning Commons. Orage 脡lectrique will be exhibited until November 18, 2019, after which the painter Bunny Harvey will exhibit her collection Survival Tactics. A vernissage will be held in the gallery on November 21 at 18:00.