The Sheldon Art Gallery Presents GINA ALVAREZ AND JANA HARPER: POEMS BY BOBBY THIEL 2/18-6/4

The Sheldon Art Galleries presents Gina Alvarez and Jana Harper: Poems by Bobby Thiel, February 18 - June 4, 2011 in the Nancy Spirtas Kranzberg Gallery. Please join us for an all-gallery opening reception on Friday, February 18 from 5 - 8 p.m.! Gallery hours are Tuesdays, Noon - 8 p.m.; Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, Noon - 5 p.m.; Saturdays, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. and one hour prior to Sheldon performances and during intermission. Admission is free. For more information on the exhibition visit the galleries' website at www.thesheldon.org/galleries.asp.

Gallery Talk: Saturday, March 19, 1 p.m. Gina Alvarez and Jana Harper discuss their work and their collaborative process, Nancy Spirtas Kranzberg Gallery, admission free.

This collaborative print project was produced by St. Louis artists Gina Alvarez and Jana Harper during a residency at Pyramid Atlantic in Silver Spring, Maryland. The series was inspired by a child's notebook of poems made in the 1940s by a distant relative of Alvarez. The artists appropriated the titles of his poems and worked to create "collaged" images that combine photographs, appropriated images, shapes and colors inspired by Japanese prints, and Indian miniatures. They were made by layering digital prints with traditional printmaking techniques and hand-work that included drawing, stitching and collage.

Jana Harper works both collaboratively and individually on themes related to quietude, connection, authenticity and environment. She teaches in the Kranzberg Illustrated Book Studio at Washington University in St. Louis and is the curator of the Urban Books Collection of artists' books at Olin Library.

Born in Racine, Wisconsin, Gina Alvarez strives for a sense of wonder in her work and works in printmaking, fiber arts, drawing, sculpture and installation. Alvarez is Gallery and Education Director at the Saint Louis Artist's Guild and has exhibited nationally.

The not-for-profit Sheldon Art Galleries exhibits works by local, national, and International Artists in all media. Over 6,000 square feet of the galleries' spaces on the 2nd floor are permanently devoted to rotating exhibits of photography, architecture, jazz art and history, and children's art. A sculpture garden, seen from both the atrium lobby and the connecting glass bridge, features periodic rotations and installations, and the Nancy Spirtas Kranzberg Gallery on the lower level features art of all media. The Sheldon actively supports the work of St. Louis artists in all mediums and features a dedicatEd Gallery with museum-quality exhibits by St. Louis artists, past and present.

Financial Assistance for this project has been provided by the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency. Support is provided by the Regional Arts Commission and the Arts and Education Council