2022-23 Exhibitions

Every day you have to abandon your past or accept it, and then, if you cannot accept it, you become a sculptor.
– Louise Bourgeois

Lynden Cline’s work centers around identity after a past filled with chaotic and confusing family situations. Her choice of medium, steel, speaks to her with its energy and strength, and proves to be an effective vehicle to narrate her dark history. While the viewer first sees recognizable forms, such as chairs and beds, these objects hold secrets and mysterious themes. Cline’s physical act of translating her feelings into a structure is part of her process: it takes strength from her and gives her strength in return. She is often overwhelmed by the reaction people have to her work, never thinking work so personal and full of feelings could touch others.

Focused primarily on sculpture, Lynden Cline has been featured in solo and group exhibitions in many major cities. An active member of various art and community associations, she served as President of the Washington Sculptors Group, and has taught at the Corcoran School of the Arts & Design. In addition to making and exhibiting fine art, she developed Creativity Grows On Trees (But Trees Need Strong Roots), a program providing artists and others with strategies, tools, and fundamentals to connect with their creativity. In 2020, Cline founded Artists As Activists, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to distribute provocative art about the social issues of the day to stimulate dialogue, raise consciousness, and advocate change.

Gallery Lobby

Drawn to photography during the isolation of COVID-19, Elle Cee was enthralled by the spontaneity of the medium and the ability to capture familiar objects from unusual perspectives. Cee’s work reflects the brilliant colors and moody darks. These qualities were perfect for capturing the powerful structures of carnival rides, an up-one-day and gone-the-next surprise on the landscape.

Closed November 23 – 28

Since ancient times, geometric perfection (circle, square, and triangle) has been thought to convey sacred and secular truths by reflecting the fractal interconnections of the natural world. The artists in Geometric Aljamía: a Cultural Transliteration explore geometry as a fundamental aspect of art and as a way to communicate universal ideas across cultures. Aljamía is a medieval Spanish word that refers to Romance languages written in Arabic script. This transliteration contributed to the dissemination of the Arabic language and Islamic influences throughout the Iberian Peninsula and beyond. By understanding the arts as a transliteration of one form of thinking to another and addressing the fundamental patterns embedded in visual art, Geometric Aljamía revisits the ongoing impact of Islamic art, science, and philosophy throughout the world today.

The papercut installations use sacred geometry to blend subtle imperfection with structured repetition. Wall tracings and motifs are inspired by Islamic tilework, Koran Illumination Tehzip patterns in the Ottoman style, or Islamic miniatures attributed to the Behzad School of Illumination. In the drawings, linear perspective is employed as a metaphor for Western Civilization. The shared artistic and intellectual interests of these six artists speak to the larger hybrid relationship that the West shares with the Middle East, and especially with the Golden Age of Islamic Civilization.

• Jorge Benitez
• Reni Gower
• Julia Townsend
• and others

Virtual Exhibit

Join us for a closing reception with artist John Singletary on Wednesday, March 22, 4:30 - 6 p.m. with gallery talk at 5 p.m.
 

Closed Spring Break March 5 – 12 (open by appointment)

Transcending the limitations of the photographic medium, John Singletary creates multi-disciplinary installation experiences. Photographs are animated through synchronized state-of-theart organic LED panels, which serve as large format electronic canvases. Included in the exhibition is Anahata, an immersive experience that explores human relationships and their connection to the divine. Using an open-spectrum camera in a purpose-built, UV light studio, choreographed movements by dancers were captured to produce dream-like images steeped in archetypal symbolism, mythology and mysticism. A new, ongoing multimedia installation, Traces, is also on view. This series depicts the extraordinary light and darkness in the human condition through video, audio, digital and stop-motion animation, and historical footage.

John Singletary is a photographer and multimedia artist based in Philadelphia, PA. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography from The University of the Arts. His work has been collected by the Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Center for Fine Art Photography as well as other institutional and private collections. He has exhibited at The State Museum of Pennsylvania, LGTripp Gallery, James Oliver Gallery, Sol Mednick Gallery and The Delaware Contemporary. His work has been reviewed or featured in Lenscratch, L’Oeil de la Photographie, Od Review, Movers and Makers (WHYY), and The Philadelphia Inquirer. Singletary is a contributing writer for The Photo Review.

Virtual Exhibit

Closed Sunday, April 9

Architecture & Sustainable Design features the projects of students’ architectural design work in their final year of study at Penn College. Each graduating senior was tasked with the design and development of a significant building in an urban setting. Students will present design process drawings, 3D models, and computer renderings depicting their comprehensive individual solutions.

The Penn College architecture programs have a long history and a strong reputation. Associate and bachelor’s degree graduates have gone on to pursue graduate studies at prestigious universities as well as attain employment in architecture, engineering, and construction companies across the US. These graduates are well-versed in sustainability, design, and technical knowledge and make significant contributions to the built environment and the field of architecture.

Graphic Design 2023 is an annual exhibition displaying the best design, illustration, and web design work of graphic design majors in their final semester of study at Penn College. For the exhibition, design faculty select the top works developed by each student within their time at Penn College. The exhibition gives students a chance to present their work in marketing, branding, packaging, advertising, and design to industry professionals and the community.

Penn College graphic design students have consistently earned recognition through their submissions to regional, national, and international advertising design competitions, particularly in the student category of the AAF American Advertising Awards and AIGA Blue Ridge’s Flux Student Design Competition.

Reception Sunday, June 4, 2 - 5 p.m.
Awards at 3 p.m.

Closed July 2 – 5

100 Miles showcases the diversity and quality of regional art and celebrate the artistic talent of artists working in a variety of media. One hundred and eight works of art by 101 emerging and established contemporary artists living within 100 miles of Williamsport, Pennsylvania are included.

The exhibition was juried by artist Elizabeth Gourlay. She wrote: "I tried to be as inclusive as possible to show the broad range of media...and to capture some of the wide range of voices coming forward from regional Pennsylvania. I see this exhibition as a microcosm of the art world at large, and of our whole culture."

Elizabeth Gourlay, Juror

After a fellowship at the Yale/Norfolk Summer School of Music and Art, Elizabeth went on to receive a BA with First Class Honors from Edinburgh College of Art in Scotland and an MFA in Painting from Yale University School of Art. Her work has been shown extensively throughout the United States and she is the recipient of numerous residencies, fellowships and awards including two Individual Artists Grants from the Connecticut Office of the Arts.

Gourlay’s work has been written about in The New Criterion, Painters’ Table, Gorky’s Granddaughter, and In Their Studios, to name a few. Gourlay’s work is shown nationally and internationally, most notably at The Drawing Center, MASS MoCA, The Cummings Arts Center at Connecticut College, The Hecksher Museum of Art, and The Widener Gallery at Trinity College. Her work is represented by Kenise Barnes Fine Art in Kent, CT, and IdeelArt, Paris, France. She teaches Applied Color in Continuing Ed at The Rhode Island School of Design.

Artist List

Catalog