WILSON, N.C. — The beginning of a new academic year brings with it a new exhibition at the Barton Art Galleries. “Cat’s Cradle,” featuring paintings by visiting artist Jeanette Cole, goes on display Monday, Aug. 24 and runs through October 2. An opening reception and gallery talk lecture featuring the artist will be held Thursday, Sept. 3. The reception begins at 5 p.m., with the lecture to follow at 6:30. All events are open to the public at no charge, and the community is invited to attend.
Complementing “Cat’s Cradle” is a selection of African masks on view from the Barton Art Galleries Permanent Collection. The masks were gifts from Barton (then Atlantic Christian College) alumnus Robert E. Windham, Class of 1940, and later from his son R. Craig Windham. The masks represent a broad representation of the cultures of West Africa in the early 20th century. Cole spent her childhood in western Africa with her parents, who were teachers. The imprints of these early experiences in Africa often inform aspects of her abstract paintings. She will discuss this connection in her gallery talk on September 3.
Born in Lincoln, Neb. and raised in Liberia, Cole is a professor and associate chair of the Department of Art, Architecture, and Art History at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She has exhibited her work in several solo exhibitions in New York, and in many group exhibitions in the metropolitan New York area. She has had 25 solo exhibitions at colleges and galleries across the country. She is a recipient of a Howard Foundation Fellowship and a Virginia Museum Professional Fellowship.
The Barton Art Galleries, located inside Case Art Building on the campus of Barton College, are open Monday-Friday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. For additional information, please contact (252) 399-6477 or artgalleries@barton.edu.
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