Penn College News

Art Exhibit Explores Self-Discovery, Transformations

Sunday, March 6, 2016

Artist Juan José Barboza-Gubo says the reason he’s most excited about his exhibit at The Gallery at Penn College is that this is the first time his work from two series will be shown in one unified installation, allowing for “a unique and important intersection of the work.”

“IntusExternus” is the title of the exhibit running March 15 through April 22 at Pennsylvania College of Technology. The show will feature works from Barboza-Gubo’s “Pink Narcissus” and “Cruor-Proelium-Cervus” series. The artistic explorations are in ceramic, cast glass, cast aluminum, alabaster, silver, oil on canvas and mixed media on paper.

A Meet the Artist Reception is set for 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, March 15, featuring a 5:30 p.m. gallery talk. The reception and exhibit are open to the public and free of charge.



Juan José Barboza-Gubo’s work “Proelium #1,” cast aluminum, cast clear crystalPink Narcissus explores the self-discovery of a man at the moment in which he sees his own reflected self as a being capable of experiencing both love and ecstasy in their full capacities. The works of Cruor-Proelium-Cervus (Latin for The Blood, The Battle, The Deer) is a continuation of Pink Narcissus and tells the story of the individual's transformation through a rite of passage, wherein The Blood is a representation of life, and The Battle, a representation of the personal struggles transmuting into the purest form of “self,” as represented by the character of The Deer.

Explaining the IntusExternus title, the artist said, “As the root of the romance languages, Latin provides the purest form of the written word and it's the foundation of my own native language of Spanish, so the title merges two works frequently used in opposition of each other – a sort of ‘within the exterior’ or ‘inside the external.’ I think it ties the two series together nicely.”

Originally from Peru, Barboza-Gubo is an assistant professor of art at Rhode Island College. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in sculpture from Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru, and earned two Master of Fine Arts degrees from Massachusetts College of Art and Design – one in sculpture and the other in painting.

He has had numerous exhibitions in the United States and abroad, including shows at the Nielsen Gallery; The Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University; Attleboro Arts Museum; The Chazan Gallery at Wheeler; Fitchburg Arts Museum; and Cecilia Gonzales Gallery in Lima, Peru.

The Gallery at Penn College is on the third floor of Madigan Library. The gallery is open 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday; 2 to 7 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday; and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday and Friday. It will be closed March 25-27.

In addition to serving as an educational resource for Penn College students and a cultural asset to the college and community, the gallery is dedicated to promoting art appreciation through exhibitions of contemporary art.

For more about Penn College, a national leader in applied technology education and workforce development, email the Admissions Office or call toll-free 800-367-9222.