Lowe Art Gallery hosts ‘Pa d’angel’ exhibition and exhibition depicting the history of written/printed word through Feb. 14

Lowe Art Gallery hosts ‘Pa d’angel’ exhibition and exhibition depicting the history of written/printed word through Feb. 14January 12, 2001

“Pa d’angel/Angel’s Host,” a collection of more than 60 works by artists from Europe, the United States and Canada, and “The Legacy of Lettering,” a history of the written and printed word, are currently on exhibit at Syracuse University’s Joe and Emily Lowe Art Gallery. A closing reception for both exhibitions will be held 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 14.

In addition to the closing reception, gallery talks are planned for both exhibitions. Katherine Slusher de Vilallonga will speak on “Pa d’angel/Angel’s Host” at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 24. Terrance Keenan, special collections librarian for the SU Library, will host a discussion of “The Legacy of Lettering,” at noon Jan. 31. The gallery talks are free and open to the public.

“Pa d’angel” is an independently curated exhibition by Vilallonga, who lives and works in Barcelona, Spain, and is a graduate of the program in museum studies in the College of Visual and Performing Arts. The literal translation of the exhibition title is “angel’s bread,” which refers to the unleavened bread used to make holy wafers. All of the artists invited to participate in the show were given handmade deckled paper, each measuring 15 centimeters round, as a starting point for their work of art. It is the shape of the paper–reminiscent of a religious host–that inspired the title for the show.

The pieces in the exhibition demonstrate a broad richness of concept and technique, including watercolor, oil painting, collage, photography, gouache, chine collé, etching, computer graphics, drawing, encaustic painting and small sculpture.

The exhibition has been supported in part by the Office of the Dean in the College of Visual and Performing Arts.

Drawing primarily on the extensive holdings of SU Library’s Special Collections and the University Art Collection, “The Legacy of Lettering” presents a history of the written and printed word, representing significant changes over time in this form of communication. Presented in chronological order, with few exceptions, the exhibition spans a time period depicted by Mesopotamian clay tablets dating as far back as 3,000 B.C. to the computer-aided calligraphy of today.

Highlights include a leaf from the Gutenberg Bible, a 12th-century choir book, a 16th-century letter signed by Mary Queen of Scots and a copy of The Yellow Kid, one of the first comic books ever produced.

The exhibition was curated by graduate students enrolled in the college’s advanced curatorship course last fall with the support and guidance of Edward A. Aiken, director of the Lowe Art Gallery; Toni Toland, director of the School of Art and Design in the College of Visual and Performing Arts; and Keenan.