Art emeritus publishes retrospective

KALAMAZOO--A professor emeritus of art at Western Michigan University has published a book chronicling his more than 50 years of work.

Joseph V. De Luca's retrospective, titled "Joseph , Selected Works: Five Decades—Drawing, Paintings and Constructions," includes 139 pages in color and was published in June 2011 by Signature Books.

It is the result of a retrospective exhibition of 80 works the artist produced from 1958 to 2010 held in Gallery Fifty of Building Fifty in the Village at Grand Traverse Commons in Traverse City, Mich.

DeLuca's large-scale paintings include materials such as tar, cardboard, metal and wood, and many have been motivated by extended travels in Europe.

"My work is a microcosm of the landscape and deals with my emotional and intuitive responses to my environment," he says in his artist's statement "I am fascinated by textured, weathered and time-worn objects and surface. The effects considered are those of light, atmosphere and shadow."

His work may be found in private collections throughout the United States, Europe and South America as well as a variety of public collections, including the Toledo (Ohio) and Grand Rapids (Mich.) art museums, the Ford Motor Co. world headquarters, and numerous universities.

De Luca retired from WMU in 1996 after 30 years of teaching, drawing and painting in what is now the Frostic School of Art. He earned a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degree from Bowling Green University and a Master of Fine Arts degree from Michigan State University.

Since his retirement, De Luca has resided in Traverse City, where he continues to paint and exhibit. He is a member of that city's Dennos Museum Center and the Art Center of Traverse City. Visit www.joedelucaartist.com for more about the artist and examples of his work.