By KATRINA PENAFLOR Campus Life Editor
From Jan. 7 through Feb. 6 the Cannon Gallery of Art, located in Campbell Hall, will showcase the work of artists Robert Tomlinson and Robert Schlegel.
Gallery director, Paula Booth, heard both artists wanted to collaborate with one another, so last year she decided to combine their work for a show.
The exhibit is a collection of mixed media sculptures, photography, drawings and installations all created new by the artists for the gallery.
Tomlinson and Schlegel worked collaboratively on several pieces in the exhibit. The artists would individually work, add to the pieces and pass them back and forth until they felt they were complete.
They, along with several art students, created and organized the placement of their work in the gallery, a job typically done by the gallery director.
Robert Schlegel, an artist from Banks, Ore., is known for his paintings of birds and landscapes. He carefully constructed intricate sculptures of houses and birds that reflect upon his rural life and style.
Paula Booth, gallery director says, “Just like in his paintings, [the birds] are so bird like.” He likes to pull elements together that he finds around him, from his home or junk shops.
The results are stunning. The large arrangement of birds in the center of the gallery immediately catches the observer’s eye the second they walk in the door. Booth enjoyed this part of the collection,
“There are a couple birds that I am particularly fond of.”
Erin Westfall, a senior and contemporary music major, took a tour of the show and admired Schlegel’s work, “The birds were my favorite, each portraying an individual personality.”
Robert Tomlinson, a local artist who resides in Independence, created pieces that reflect a new style for his art. His work combines elements of poetry, photography, household items, nature, and more that together form installations that are unique and visually striking. Some of Tomlinson’s work pays homage to artists like Yves Klein and writer Raymond Russell.
Booth had a few favorites of Tomlinson as well, “I loved all three pieces that were on the big disk, plates. I really liked the ‘lost at sea’ one.” She adds on the bold color choices, “You don’t see much gold, and gold implies something precious.”
Gallery hours run Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
