Presbyterian College to host “Evolution: Of Origin and Form” art exhibit

Presbyterian College to host “Evolution: Of Origin and Form” art exhibit

Presbyterian College to host Ralph Pàquin’s “Evolution: Of Origin and Form” art exhibit

From January 19 to February 27, the Elizabeth Stone Harper Gallery at Presbyterian College will host Ralph Pàquin’s exhibit, “Evolution: Of Origin and Form.” An opening reception for the exhibit will be held on Thursday, January 26 at 5 p.m.

Pàquin joined the faculty full-time in 1998 and currently serves as a professor of studio art at the College. Pàquin has also held teaching positions at Ohio State University and Furman University.

A native of Newport, R.I., Pàquin has studied under craftsmen and artists in California, Nebraska, Virginia, and Rhode Island. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in sculpture from the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth and a Master of Fine Arts in ceramics from Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

Following graduate school, he shifted to large-scale artworks conceptually based upon the “human condition.” Over the year, he has held large-scale installations at a number of venues including the Greenville Museum of Art, MIT, MediaLab, and Artist’s Space Gallery in NYC.

Pàquin’s work has evolved over 40 years in a natural progression, leading to the present concise and refined configuration while still retaining the muscular volume of his French and German heritage. Inspired by such artists as Constantin Brancusi and Henry Moore, life’s encounters, and the renewal and reflection of teaching, Pàquin most recently mastered the challenge and economy of mold making. Works in this exhibit include both ceramic and fiberglass sculptures and works on paper.

“My current series consists of meticulously fabricate organomorphic shapes that are a result of pausing to consider the interior of the human body and its connections to primordial forms of life,” Pàquin said.

The Elizabeth Stone Harper Gallery is host to four exhibitions annually—two exhibitions of work by nationally and internationally recognized artists, the senior art major exhibition, and the annual student exhibition. The gallery hours are Wednesday through Saturday from noon to 5 p.m.; admission to the gallery and the opening reception is free.

 


 

Presbyterian College is located on a striking 240-acre campus in Clinton, between Columbia and Greenville, S.C. Offering challenging academics and a culture of honor, ethics, and service that prepares students to be leaders in communities, PC offers its students the benefit of engaging with an exceptional faculty who take individual interest in their students’ well-being, both personally and in the classroom. The Presbyterian College School of Pharmacy is dedicated to the ideals of leadership, honor to the profession, and service to the community. For more information about Presbyterian College, visit www.presby.edu.