UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — “Refugee,” an exhibition of large-scale paintings created by Penn State School of Visual Arts alumnus Michael Fratangelo, will open on Jan. 30 and run through June 5, 2026 at the College of Arts and Architecture’s Woskob Family Gallery, located at 146 S. Allen Street in downtown State College. A Pittsburgh-based artist, Fratangelo graduated from Penn State in 2001 with a bachelor's degree in art education.
An opening reception will be held on April 10 at 6 p.m. and will feature a question-and-answer session with Fratangelo hosted by John Bowman, professor emeritus in the Penn State School of Visual Arts.
Through the gestural abstract works featured in the exhibition, Fratangelo asks viewers to see themselves in the suffering of others and to recognize that displacement can happen to anyone. “Refugee” invites audiences to confront urgent questions about forced migration, identity and our shared humanity.
Having previously created socially engaged work with “Iraq: Paintings of War” in 2005, Fratangelo said that he felt compelled to respond to this contemporary crisis.
Premiering in 2024 at Atithi Studios in Pittsburgh, “Refugee” addresses the immigration crisis in Europe and draws from photographs featured in the New York Times that document the crisis.
On large 6’ x 5’ canvases, Fratangelo uses acrylic, latex and glitter to capture the human experience of displacement. While creating the paintings, Fratangelo said he approached the work with reverence for the human stories of the Middle Eastern and North African people he depicted.
“Though viewers may find familiar religious symbols, the work transcends individual faiths to address universal human vulnerability,” Fratangelo said in an artist’s statement.
Fratangelo said he hopes visitors to the exhibition share his refusal to look away from images of suffering and recognize the shared humanity they reveal.
Classes, student organizations and university offices are encouraged to visit the Woskob Family Gallery, a unit of the College of Arts and Architecture. Inquiries can be directed to woskob@psu.edu. For more information on this and other exhibitions, visit the gallery’s website. Keep up to date with the Woskob Family Gallery by signing up for its listserv or following on Instagram @woskobfamilygallery.