West African-inspired art on exhibit in Memorial Hall
CHADRON – Takarada, an art show by Gretchen Beck of Laguna Woods, California, is in Memorial Hall’s Main Gallery now until August 14. The Main Gallery is free and open to the public Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. or view by appointment by calling 308-432-6317. Beck’s work was accepted based on her response to a call for exhibits, according to Art Department chair Trudy Denham.
Beck’s work is heavily inspired by her time as a Peace Corps of America volunteer in Niger, West Africa, with the African Food Systems Initiative from 1992-95.
Her work reflects the culture of the Fulani and Djarma people through both mixed media and collage.
“My art involves an exploration of the Nigerien landscape, the Djarma and Fulani cultures and the art forms they create. This abstract work portrays ritual and tradition in Nigerien culture,” said Beck in her artist’s statement on her website. “Relationships among color, shape, and texture come together to form fluid and grid-like compositions. Color dominates the images and dictates the media employed to produce them.”
Category: Art