The Schoenherr Art Gallery, located inside of the Fine Arts Center, is known for housing art exhibits year after year. This fall, the gallery has decided to host the artwork and sculptures of Edward Herbeck and Yves Paquette in the exhibit “Land Up High…”
The exhibit is a mixture of paintings by Herbeck, and various sculptures by Paquette, which coexist to create a visually pleasing exhibit for the viewer. What ties the exhibit together is the similar shades of blue that Herbeck and Paquette chose to accentuate their pieces.
The reception for the exhibit was held on Oct. 19, and the artists were met with words of praise.
“Herbeck’s paintings are meant to make the viewer feel like they are flying, or laying in the grass looking up into the clouds,” says Amy Tedeschi, a junior who works at the gallery. “The shades of blue and green are used in the pottery because Paquette enjoys the serenity it creates.”
“The shapes of each piece keep your eye moving, and create a flow that you can see in the paintings as well.” says Taylor Lauster, a senior who works in the gallery. “The form in Paquette’s pottery is meant to reflect the clouds and blue skies in Herbeck’s paintings,” said Tedeschi.
Herbeck is a graduate of both the University of Notre Dame and Western Illinois University, and he is also working as a lecturer at North Central College. In addition to painting, Herbeck also creates lithographs, and works with varied media in drawings and etchings.
In his artist statement, Herbeck keeps quiet on what exactly inspired him to create the pieces featured in “Land Up High…,” but he touches on what inspires his art in general: “I draw and paint what I have been so blessed to see, experience and imagine.” This ideology is seen in his tranquil landscapes and sky views included in the exhibit.
Paquette works as a professor at the Savannah College of Art and Design, and previously worked as a professor at North Central College in sculpture and ceramics. He is a graduate of both Ohio State University and the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. Unlike Herbeck and his use of multimedia, Paquette chooses to exclusively showcase his work in pottery in various exhibits across the country.
Reflecting Herbeck’s artist statement, Paquette never reveals exactly what his inspiration was for the pottery included in “Land Up High…” Instead, he more broadly covers what his overall vision is as an artist: “Change is essential, challenging and healthy, but an abrupt change would be too disconcerting,” says Paquette. This sentiment is definitely reflected in his pottery and, to a lesser extent, in Herbeck’s paintings.
“Land Up High…” will be featured in the Schoenherr Art Gallery Dec. 6, 2015.
