From Nov. 11 to Dec. 11, The Gallery at Penn College, on the third floor of the Madigan Library at Pennsylvania College of Technology, will host an unlikely alchemy of the natural and mystical worlds as captured in the artwork of Virginia Bradley and Chris Malcomson.After meeting in 2004, the two artists discovered that their seemingly contrasting works complemented each other with a common reliance on the intuitive.
As a traveler, collector and voyeur, Bradley collects and documents images from the natural world and from cultures she has observed and uses them as source material for her work. Animal imagery, as represented in natural history, is a main theme.
"I am intrigued by the 'instinct' or 'sixth sense' that animals possess, as well as their primordial sense of purity and beauty," Bradley says. "An animal's innate instinct for survival correlates to the intuitive process that is active in my painting."
She uses printmaking and mixed media to create a dialogue among the printed image, the natural handmade mark and the alchemy of disparate materials.
Bradley is a professor of art at the University of Delaware. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in painting from the University of South Florida and a bachelor's degree in painting and printmaking from the University of Miami. She resides in Philadelphia and has a studio at the Crane Arts Center.
In his previous career as a civil engineer in England, Malcomson's ability to see the essence of a problem was honed, and a desire to capture that essence led him to the minimalist style of painting."I have a long interest in both Jungian and transpersonal psychology, the poet Rumi, and icons," he says. "These influences are reflected in my paintings, which in part are studies in form and color recalling 'inner landscapes,' and in part invitations to travel internally without defining a destination."
Malcomson attended the Chelsea College of Art and Design, London, and maintained a studio at Great Western Studios, London, before moving to the United States. He lives, and maintains a studio, in Philadelphia.
The gallery will host an opening reception for the exhibit on Nov. 17 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., with a gallery talk at 5:30.
The gallery is open Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m.; Tuesday and Thursday, 2 to 7 p.m.; and Wednesday and Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. (closed Saturday and Monday). The gallery will be closed Nov. 23-27.
For more about the exhibit and The Gallery at Penn College, visit online , email or call 570-320-2445.
For more about Penn College, visit on the Web , email or call toll-free 800-367-9222.