“Holiday” by David Mudrinich, graphite, charcoal, carbon pencil on paper, 18×26.
ON THE EXHIBIT:
“In my landscape art, I always seemed to view a place with a sense of exploration. It didn’t matter whether it was where I was living or just a place that I was traveling to. The layout of the land was the dominant design characteristic I would first observe. Over time, as I settled into a location or visited it again, I would gain more knowledge of the climate, ecology, history and culture of that place and incorporate these aspects into my artwork. Creating this art was a discovery of a sense of place and all the various characteristics that make any one location unique.
“Spending time in a particular location would also make me aware that everything in an environment is subject to change. This might be a farm being abandoned, the flooding of a river, a flock of birds or the changing of the seasons. This continuous transformation allows me to visit a place repeatedly and always experience something new. To me, everywhere is local when you devote time into a place.”
ARTIST BIO:
Artist David Mudrinich lives in Pope County, Arkansas, and is professor emeritus of art at Arkansas Tech University where he taught drawing and painting for more than 22 years. He was born in Sharon, Pennsylvania, and graduated from Penn State University. After graduation, the economic decline of that region provided the incentive for him to move. He relocated to Georgia and worked as an artist and as a forestry technician within a research forest operated by the University of Georgia. He eventually earned an MFA in art from the University of Georgia and was hired to teach at Arkansas Tech in 1998.
Mudrinich’s work is exhibited widely, and he has received awards on both the regional and national level. Group exhibitions include the annual Delta Exhibition at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, the Arkansas Pastel Society National Exhibition and the Midyear at the Butler Institute of American Art. Solo shows include the Fort Smith Regional Museum, Harding University, Tulsa Performing Arts Center and the University of the Ozarks. Public/corporate collections include the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Windgate Museum of Art at Hendrix College, State of Georgia Art Collection and the Arts & Science Center of Southeast Arkansas.
See more of Mudrinich’s work in the exhibit “Everywhere is Local” on display at Cantrell Gallery through Jan. 7.