The Bardo Arts Center is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the WCU Fine Art Museum showcasing over five decades of art. The exhibit opened Jan. 20 and will run until July 2.
The exhibition features variety of mediums involving paintings, prints, drawings, and photography, with a focus on contemporary Native American and women artists.
Many of the works displayed in the exhibit come from the two predecessor galleries at WCU. The Belk Gallery opened in 1972 in the Belk Building as part of the Department of Art, and Chelsea followed in 1978 in the University Center. Both collected and displayed art until 2003. The WCU Fine Arts Museum opened in the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center in 2005.
“A visual timeline through Western Carolina/Bardo Art Center’s collection history. You get to walk through 54 years of time collecting art through Western Carolina University,“ Bardo’s marketing manager Rachel Hood said.
Walking through the exhibit, visitors see many different chapters of the Museum’s history. The exhibit features two bonus rooms filled with prints and canvas that consistently find themselves favored by art lovers for their colorful nature and abstract ideas. Also featured are many beloved and respected artists like Richard Ritter and Harvey Littleton, who are known for their glass works across the art world.
“This exhibition differs from the rest of our others because it’s our permanent collection. All of the items that you see on the walls are a part of our 2100-piece gallery collection that we keep in a secured and locked vault in the back,” Hood said. “So, it’s fun to kind of walk through and see different times, and how art has changed or maybe has not changed.”
Hood is hoping students visit and enjoy the art and the history of the museum.
“Students can explore and learn a new artist or maybe they find something that is cool and they really like, and that identifies with them. That would be great for them to have,” said Hood.
Students and community members are encouraged to explore the gallery and learn about the local art history featured at the reception on Feb. 12, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Bardo Center.
