Past Exhibits

Gallery

“Small Works,” a collection of paintings by Jacqueline Golden, Associate Professor of Art at the University of Arkansas, is now being exhibited in the lobby area of Mullins Library. The title of the exhibit refers to the size of the pieces in the collection, some measuring only 6 x 8 inches, not to their impact on the viewer.

For several years, Jacqueline has directed a study abroad program in Rome, Italy, titled ART IN ROME. These month-long studio classes for both graduate and undergraduate students emphasize on-site specific work and include tours to ancient sites. “Looking out at the landscape of a foreign country is for me like a spiritual turning inward or a visual meditation,” says Jacqueline. “The landscape may be strange, but at the same time, utterly familiar.”

Some of the paintings in the exhibit represent the landscape, mood, and cultural icons of Italy as experienced by Jacqueline during her annual visits. Jacqueline says, “These paintings represent my search for a connection to time and history through these particular places.”

Many of the pieces are worked in oil on board. Some such as “Roman Ruin,” “Afternoon, Boboli,” and “Campagna” depict easily recognizable Italian landscapes dating to pre-history, while others, such as “Yellow Satyr,” “Ode to Diana” and “Blue Venus” feature familiar Roman icons of myth. “The elements in the paintings are like archetypes in my mind,” observes Jacqueline. “They are meant to be a metaphor for a universal feeling or experience.”

Other paintings in the exhibit, such as “Where,” “Terminus,” and “Clandestine,” all gouache on paper with pencil renderings, suggest a dreamy, illusory quality, a personal interpretation of the cultural mood. Jacqueline states, “I believe the soul recognizes a feeling of longing and a deep desire to embrace the experience.”

Jacqueline regularly participates in exhibitions around the country and is represented in several private collections. Most recently she was a participant in the “Delta,” an annual exhibition held at the Arkansas Arts Center, and the “Small Works on Paper” exhibition, an annual touring visual arts Exhibition coordinated by the Arkansas Arts Council. In addition, one of Jacqueline’s paintings was selected for exhibit in Senator Blanche Lincoln’s office in Washington, D. C.

“ Small Works” will be on display in the main lobby area of Mullins Library through the end of October. Additional student works from the ART IN ROME program are featured in the display cases in the Helen R. Walton Reading Room in Mullins Library and in the Fine Arts Center. Student artists displayed are Lindsey Maestri, Devron Moziek, Ronnie Myers, Becca Nisbet, Debra Reece, and Cindy Wiseman, and their works include pen and ink, gouache with ink, watercolors and acrylic and marker on ceramic tile. Persons interested in purchasing paintings may contact Jacqueline Golden at 575-5202, or via email at jsgolden@uark.edu.