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Sangren exhibit features Wisconsin artist Amy Arntson

March 27, 2005

KALAMAZOO--Watercolors by Wisconsin artist Amy Arntson are featured in a free exhibit in Sangren Hall Gallery II on the campus of Western Michigan University. The exhibit runs March 29 through April 14 and is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays.

Arntson bases her paintings of water on direct observation. She travels, often to such varied sites as Isle Royale National Park in Lake Superior, Voyageurs National Park in International Falls, Minnesota, and the Persian Gulf. She immerses herself in the sensory aspects of the place, making sketches, taking photos for later reference, and making mental notes about the sights, sounds and smells of a place. She often edits from her compositions any references to shore or horizon, focusing on shape, color and texture. Her work, while highly realistic, also has a strong sense of design structure and abstraction.

Arntson's accomplishments include research, teaching and writing in the field of graphic design and visual perception. She says, "The use of figure/ground relationships throughout art and design of the 20th century fascinates me, and is the structural underpinning of my work with transparent watercolor."

She has given presentations and shown work at international conferences in Sweden, Spain, Peru, Costa Rica, China and England in addition to many regional and national venues. Her exhibitions include The Triennial at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art and The Fourth United Nations Conference on Women, Beijing, China. She served as an education consultant to the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Education.

Arntson presents a slide lecture of her work at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 29, in Room 1213 of Sangren Hall.

Arntson is professor emeritus of art at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where she taught art, computer graphics and graphic design for 22 years. She is now a full-time artist and author.

Media contact: Jackie Ruttinger, 269 387-2455, jacquelyn.ruttinger@wmich.edu

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