UPPER BURRELL, Pa. -- The annual exhibit of paintings by artist Charles "Bud" Gibbons, professor emeritus of visual arts at Penn State New Kensington, is set to run in May and June in the Art Gallery on the Upper Burrell campus. The artist’s 40-year run as a professor ended a year ago.
The theme of the show is "Paintings by Bud Gibbons," and the display features 42 oil and acrylic pieces. Many have been a part of Gibbons’ previous exhibits. "Paintings" is the traditional name of the show.
"Each year I get to see my paintings 'fresh' in the gallery," Gibbons said. "It helps to know how to move the paintings forward. These paintings have not made it into exhibits before or have been reworked to the point that they should be shown again.”
Some of the paintings are from his “unfinished” collection. Gibbons’ "en plein air" (in the open air) style is sometimes limited by time and weather, so a painting can get started but not always completed. The exhibit comprises a number of these outdoor pieces called “studies,” which are small paintings done on location. A study becomes the foundation for a larger painting that can be done in the studio.
The exhibit is free to the public. A reception in May is in the planning stages, and will be announced at a later date.
The New Kensington gallery is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays and noon to 5 p.m. weekends. For more information, call 724-334-6056.
For photos of the exhibit, visit http://psnk.smugmug.com/
About the ArtistThis is the first show by Gibbons as a professor emeritus, a title bestowed on distinguished faculty for long service to the campus. He retired in 2014 after 40 years at the campus. Gibbons joined the campus faculty in 1974 and was promoted to full professor in 2008. Full professor is the highest rank attained by senior faculty members. He holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from Penn State and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Maryland Institute of Art. The Lower Burrell resident teaches introductory courses on visual arts, drawing and painting. An accomplished artist, Gibbons has painted the American landscape from the Atlantic to the Pacific and around the world in places as remote and exotic as Tibet, Peru, Alaska and the mountains of China. His paintings are represented in many collections including the Westmoreland Museum in Greensburg, the Southern Alleghenies Museum in Loretto and the National Museum in Cusco, Peru.