Portraits on display at Archabbey Library Gallery

Saint Meinrad Archabbey Library Gallery, St. Meinrad, is hosting an exhibit of portrait paintings titled “Mirrors and Masks.” Four artists will exhibit portraits in this show, which runs from May 3 through June 30.

How much can the viewer learn about the individual presented? Does a face reveal character, or is it a mask behind which to hide? Do the surroundings of the person give clues as to personality, or are they deliberately confusing? The variety of approaches to the problem tells us as much about the personality of the artist as it does about the personality of the individual in the picture.

Iris Gentry from Henderson will be showing portraits in pastels and in oil. Her work is included in numerous corporate and private collections in the tri-state area, including the Owensboro (KY) Museum of Fine Art and Solarbron Retirement Community of Evansville.

Fr. Harry Hagan, OSB, from Saint Meinrad Archabbey, paints in oil. His portraits of friends, family and acquaintances are painted in a style that he describes as naïve realism.

Wyatt LeGrand, an award-winning oil painter from Bloomfield, IN, works primarily from life, where speed and spontaneity are essential ingredients. He explains that it is imperative to paint what you see rather than what you think you know.

Laura Pommier, a painter from Jasper, IN, received an MA in art from Indiana State University in 2015 and has shown her work regionally and in New York state. Her paintings mingle what is real with what is imagined and develop as a dialogue between artist and model.

For library hours, call (812) 357-6401 or (800) 987-7311, or visit the Archabbey Library’s website: http://www.saintmeinrad.edu/library/ hours/.

The exhibit is free and open to the public. Those wishing to view the exhibit may want to arrive at least 30 minutes before closing time.