Art Exhibit Opens With Start of School Year
FOR RELEASE: Thursday, September 6, 2001
Huntington, Ind. "The Robert E. Wilson Gallery of the Merillat Centre for the Arts at Huntington College hosts Natural Relationships, a collection of drawings by Teresa Prater, September 4 "29. Admission is free and the gallery is open to the public weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and before all Merillat Centre performances. An artist's reception and gallery talk will be offered Saturday, September 29, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The public is cordially invited to attend.
Teresa Prater is an Associate Professor of Studio Art in the Department of Art and Design at Converse College in Pacolet, South Carolina. She primarily works with charcoal on paper, using the figure and supporting symbolic images to create high contrast narrative environments. Her drawings and paintings have been shown in 23 one-person exhibits and over 100 exhibitions nationally and in Mexico and Switzerland. Prater was one of six visual artists selected by the city of Spartanburg to participate in the Cultural Exchange Program in Winterthur, Switzerland, where she exhibited her charcoal drawings and participated in a one-week residency. She has been a fellow at the artists' residencies Virginia Center for the Creative Arts and The Hambidge Center in Georgia.
In addition to her charcoal drawings, Prater makes artist books, which are often exhibited with her drawings. She has recently completed a project entitled, Seven Gates of Ritual, an installation of seven drawings and artists' books.
Prater is active with the South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts. She served eight years as a Master Teacher in the Academy program, an Outreach Workshop Instructor, and a Judicator for the selection of students to participate in the Honors and Academy summer programs. Prater received her BFA from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and her MA and MFA in painting and drawing from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.
The concept of family is universal and inevitably examines the complexities found in all human relationships, explained Prater. Drawing from both old and new photographs, family members of several generations are brought together to represent the layers of happiness, fear, tension and potential found in the family structure. The most common image, my daughter, expresses the intense, deep-rooted emotional and often spiritual connection of mothers and daughters, as well to provide commentary on today's disillusioned youth.
It is the distinct expressive manner of mark-making, high contrast of lights and darks, and the dramatic sense of mystery created by the charcoal medium that fascinates me the most, added Prater. The richness of the medium combined with narrative implications come together to portray scenarios that explore the human consciousness. As with most of my work, these drawings are developed intuitively. Often begun without any clear idea or direction, each drawing is developed at its own pace and time. As with dreams, their interpretation comes later, either through another's insightful comment or through my own realization.
For further information about exhibits at the Robert E. Wilson Gallery, contact Huntington College professor Rebecca Coffman at (260) 359-4272.
