CENTER VALLEY, Pa. – The Ronald K. De Long Gallery at Penn State Lehigh Valley presents "Greg Weaver: Urban American Folk Artist" from Sept. 2-Dec. 12. The exhibition will showcase a diverse body of work from the late Allentown artist. A reception will be held from 5-7 p.m. on Oct. 2, and an auction of the exhibited work will be held at 6 p.m. on Dec. 12. Both the reception and auction are free and open to the public.
This exhibition includes a diverse body of Weaver’s work spanning just over 10 years of his career that was cut short by his untimely death in 1994. It explores various media and themes, from geometric studies to his popular cow portraits – always with a full-frontal face and uncanny eyes that stare right back at the viewer.
Of his work, the artist has stated: "I see my painting as urban American folk art; that is an art that comes from responding to the tensions of national urbanization. My art is a translation of cultural energy that I feel, into a language that speaks to those with no special knowledge of art, as well as to the knowledgeable. I like the visual intensity and commercialism of neon lights, television, billboards, postcards, comics, photographs, metallic and iridescent cars. I need the contradictions and paradoxes of modern American culture."
Greg Weaver was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in 1945. After graduating from Penn State with a bachelor's degree in political science, he decided to follow his artistic passion and enrolled at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, where he earned his bachelor of fine arts in painting in 1974.
For over a decade, Weaver energetically maintained an Allentown warehouse studio that celebrated a variety of art forms, welcomed artists young and old, and served as an incubator for an exciting experimental art scene. His work was sought after and collected by art patrons and museums.
In the late 1980s, he was diagnosed with diabetes and started to plan for eventual vision loss by training himself to paint blindfolded, stating he was "seeing with his fingers." He continued to make art using a variety of materials even after he lost his sight.
Weaver died in November 1994 from complications due to diabetes and left behind an enormous body of work. Some of his paintings were destroyed due to poor storage conditions. Eventually his boyhood friend, Rook Jones, was able to save, preserve and catalog the hundreds of works Weaver left behind.
The exhibition and reception are free and open to the public. Gallery hours are Mon.-Thurs., 9 a.m.-8 p.m., and Fri.-Sat., 9 a.m.-4 p.m. For more information, call 610-285-5000 or visit www.lv.psu.edu.