Washington and Lee University
Lexington, Virginia • October 5, 2010
"Ray Kass: Since Painting in the South," paintings and works on paper by the internationally recognized artist, will open at Washington and Lee University's Staniar Gallery on October 14. The exhibition presents a selection of works created over the past ten years that represent Kass' deep connection to the landscape. Kass will deliver an artist's talk before the opening reception on Wednesday, Oct. 20, at 5:30 p.m. in Wilson Hall's Concert Hall.
A professor emeritus of art at Virginia Tech, Kass has exhibited widely over the past 40 years and has received numerous grants and awards, including individual artist's grants from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. Kass is also the founder and director of the Mountain Lake Workshop, a collaborative, community-based art project drawing on the customs and environmental and technological resources of the New River Valley and Appalachian region.
Kass draws inspiration from his environment to create works that relate to the vital essence of nature rather than depict a literal representation. In his artist statement he says, "My appreciation of the natural world is for the great variety of texture, light, form and eventful psychology that finds its maximum expression in its manifestations." Often abstract, Kass' recent work is a carefully considered response to drawings and life-studies based on his surroundings and his materials.
The exhibition, which runs through November 11, and reception are free and open to the public. Staniar Gallery is located on the second floor of Wilson Hall, in Washington and Lee University's Lenfest Center for the Arts. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, please call 540-458-8861.
