An art exhibition -Sabbatical Exhibition: William Scarlato- is being held in the Kindlon Hall of the Benedictine University in Lisle, from November 5 through December 22, 2010. I had a chance to visit the exhibition and attend the opening reception on Friday November 5.
William Scarlato, a professor at Fine Art Department of the Benedictine University, is presenting seventeen paintings (oil on canvas) and two drawings (graphite on paper) which were made during his sabbatical year from teaching. There are two kinds of paintings: rural landscapes of Iowa and Illinois, and images considered to be the Modernist aesthetic utilizing abstraction to express transcendence. Professor Scarlato expressed that he perceived the beauty and romanticism in the rural landscapes of the Midwestern states when he came back from travel abroad widely. He explained the abstraction in his Modernist concept is constructed by utilizing recognizable world. His main intention is to create an ontological reality where the visual world of the sense is met by the creative world of the mind. Two of the paintings were made with thinking about teaching the color-theory and the style of Post-Impressionist painter, George Seurat, and the Cubist style painting.
A visit to an exhibition for dolls is recommended. It is being held at the level of Krasa Center of the same campus. A collection of beautiful dolls is presented with many supplemental photographs.