Housed in historic Parmenter Hall on the Baldwin City campus, the Holt-Russell Gallery features art by students, faculty, and local, national, and international artists.
Students exhibit their work in an annual juried student art show. In addition, students work as preparers, curators, and organizers of their senior exhibitions.
Location
Second floor of Parmenter Hall 706 Dearborn St. Baldwin City, Kansas 66006
Hours
Monday – Friday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Closed weekends and major holidays
A Sense of Self / A Sense of Place
November 19 – December 13, 2024 Artists Reception | Tuesday, Nov. 19, 5-7 p.m.
A Sense of Self is how a person perceives themselves, including their traits, beliefs, and purpose. It’s a concept that’s always evolving and is influenced by a person’s experiences, memories, relationships, and values.
A Sense of Place is the way people categorize and define locations in their minds. It’s a combination of sensory impressions, memory, imagination, and reason that allows people to understand the unique characteristics and meanings of specific places.
An artist conveys a sense of self and place through the imagery they produce. Through the examination of the community or private moments, this exhibition conveys individual world views through the eyes of Baker University art students.
Makayla Chapman, Baldwin Feed, oil on canvas 44”x44”Alexandra Poling, Snake Plant, oil on paper 17″x14″Emma Berkley, Overwhelming Beauty, digital photography 8”x10”
Aalia Kahn, oil and pastel on canvas 18”x18”Aalia Kahn, oil and pastel on canvas 24”x24”Joseph Triscornia, Tornado Warned Storm, oil on canvas 16”x16”Lillian Grace Wood, In Your Hands, digital photography 10.5″x7″
Dr. Ivan Boyd Arboretum Juried Exhibition
October 4 – November 1, 2024 Artists Reception | Friday, Oct. 4, 4:30-6:30 p.m.
Trees play a crucial role in the ecosystem by generating oxygen, absorbing carbon dioxide, and providing shelter and food for a variety of species. Additionally, they are a source of wood and other natural resources used by humans. Trees also have aesthetic and landscaping value, beautifying our surroundings and providing shade and coolness on hot days.
The Holt-Russell Gallery is proud to host this tree-themed exhibition in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Dr. Ivan Boyd Arboretum on the campus of Baker University.
Robert Sunderman Japanese Garden Tree Photography 11″ x 17″Keith Buswell Siena 2019 Intaglio 20″ x 19″
Elnora Oakes Windbreaks 2024 Mixed Media Collage 30″ x 30″Tracy Finn. Oak Field 2024. Encaustic and photo transfer 10″ x 8″ x 1.5″
Elevated | Matthew Lord
August 27 – September 21, 2024 Artist Reception & Talk | September 6, 5-7 p.m.
Matthew Lord was born in Marysville, Kansas, in 1975. His art career began in elementary school, where he would swap drawings for better grub at lunch. As a child, Matthew voraciously consumed television, played video games, collected comic books, and entertained himself for hours by drawing at the kitchen table. This early love of pop culture, storytelling, and mark making greatly influenced his decision to pursue a creative life.
In 1999, Matthew graduated with a BFA in illustration from the University of Kansas. In the years since, he has achieved many milestones in his career, including several solo and group exhibitions, featured editorial illustrations, lectures, and workshops. Being an artist has allowed him to take on the roles of teacher, facilitator, mentor, and storyteller. Matthew’s goal in creating is to spark wonder with his weird, beautiful art.
Matthew’s artwork communicates a sense of playfulness and absurdity, while incorporating elements of imaginative realism. Using his preferred media of gouache, ink, and printmaking, Matthew seeks to tell thoughtful visual stories drawn from his curiosity about the natural world and a love of mythology. His projects, commissions, and collaborations vary from small paintings to gigantic woodcut prints to a moving mural on wheels resembling a jackalope.
Matthew lives and makes artwork in Lawrence, Kansas—his fingers are often covered in ink and he still draws at a kitchen table.
2023 - 2024 Exhibits
Baker University National Juried Exhibition
Feb. 13—April 5, 2024
American Oddities | Nick Gabois
Oct. 6—27, 2023
“Corn Palace” Oil on Canvas, 36″ x 48″
Nick Gadbois’ “American Oddities” centers on unusual roadside attractions, mostly from the heartland of America. The paintings he creates are based on photographs, many of which are taken by the artist. Gadbois doesn’t create scenes from the imagination, but paints scenes from real life that already appear surreal; his work is about Everyday Surrealism.
The subjects chosen show the offbeat, quirky, playful, and inventive side of the American spirit. Subjects such as the world’s largest rocking chair, the giant strawberry, Cornhenge, Carhenge, Wall Drug, and the world’s largest ball of twine show a creative ingenuity that is uniquely American. Gadbois’ work celebrates the roadside attractions and natural phenomena that bring pleasure to everyday life.
The son of a commercial illustrator, Nick Gadbois was introduced to surrealism and pop art as a teen. In the late 1980s he began painting and exhibiting at galleries in Los Angeles. There he started to use cement as a medium for painting. He received an undergraduate degree in art from Portland State University in 2004 and his graduate degree from Vermont College in 2008. His paintings have been exhibited in San Diego, Portland, Seattle, Los Angeles, Santa Fe, Taos, and Kansas City. His cement work led to public art projects. In 2008 he was commissioned to create 13 precast cement panels for the Tri Cities Cancer Center in Kennewick, Washington. He was awarded an art project to create an exterior precast cement mural for the University of New Mexico, which was completed in 2013. The artist currently lives and works in Ottawa, Kansas.
All Views at Once | Donald Louthian
Sept. 5—29, 2023
“Rio Seco” Donald Louthian (1929-2022) Acrylic and Collage on Panel
Donald Louthian was chair of the Baker University Art Department from 1955 to 1963. After receiving his MFA from the University of Kansas in 1952, he served in the army in Japan.
While in Japan, Louthian developed a love of Asian art from the Edo Period, which is evident in his paintings. Many of Louthian’s abstract landscapes also use isometric perspective, a technique of representing space in which all lines are parallel to each other and there is no horizon line or vanishing point dictating their orientation. This creates a spatial ambiguity within his work that entices the viewer to define their own interpretation of the composition.
Donald Louthian’s work is almost entirely derived from nature. The artist created paintings of imaginary landscape models constructed in his studio while at the University of Kansas. In later works, Louthian relied on observation and interpretation of the site. He balanced the atmospheric quality of fog, mist, and light with a well-disciplined use of texture and color throughout his works.
This exhibition is dedicated to the life and memory of Donald Louthian. Although associated with Baker University for only eight years, Louthian never lost affection for Baker University’s art program. Over the years, Donald and Evelyn Louthian have donated numerous works to the art collection. This commitment continues with the donation of many of the works on display in this exhibition.
2022 – 2023 Exhibits
The Surface of Your Land | Sia Joung
May 5-20, 2023
Artist Reception | Friday, May 19, 5-7 p.m.
Baker University Artist in Residence Sia Joung is a multidisciplinary artist working in painting and installation.
Joung’s current project, “The Surface of Your Land,” asks a question of belonging in Kansas. While living in a town in rural central Kansas for the last five years, the nature of Kansas offered a place of solace. Sia questions how minorities and immigrants can value living and working in rural towns while fully belonging to the land. This question branches into migration, nature, and a culture of a place.
Joung’s paintings are made with materials of the Midwest (oil paints, egg tempera, and unprimed canvases) and migrated materials (hanji, Korean paper used for painting). The folding on her paintings eclipse parts of her original paintings, hindering the full view. The two intertwined surfaces create a new image that is a portrait of herself.
Sia Joung is an artist who lives and works in Kansas City, Kansas. She holds an MFA from Washington University in St. Louis and a BFA in Painting and Drawing from the University of Iowa. Her work has been exhibited in Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, St. Louis, Missouri; CICA Museum, Gimpo, South Korea; Des Lee Gallery, St. Louis; The Delaware Contemporary Art Museum, Wilmington, Delaware; and Delaware College Art Gallery, Media Pennsylvania.
In addition to serving as an artist-in-residence at Baker University, she is a foundation faculty member at the Kansas City Art Institute.
Baldwin National 2023
March 3 – 31
Opening Reception and Awards Ceremony | Friday, March 3, 4-6 p.m.
The Baldwin National Juried Exhibition is a survey of contemporary art in the United States and includes pieces by more than 30 artists.
Artists
Mary Angers David Applegate Timothy Atseff Mary Becker Kara Bender Randall Bennett Marc Chicoine John Decker Clint Eccher Joelle Ford Nicolas Gadbois Daniel Green Ashley Grubb Darryl Halbrooks Andrea Jacobson Bette Kauffman Sandy Kessler Kaminski Liz Koemer Nicholas Kremske Mathew Lord Paho Mann Selena Nawrocki Thomas Nawrocki Lake Newton Eric Ordway Dave Reiter Jerry Smith Louis Staeble Jason Stout Kathy Suprenant Nathan Taves Sam Wilson Rick Yasko
Bingo, I’m the King Now! | Elena Masrour
January 27 – February 18, 2023
Elena Masrour’s works are inspired by the proliferation of religious propaganda over the last 40 years in her home country, Iran, and social changes that have occurred following the Revolution. Masrour represents a generation of Iranian people who aspire to be modern at a time when religious leaders continue to weaponize the rules of God to maintain a stranglehold on power.
As an Iranian woman whose life has been heavily touched by the political events of the half decades in Iran, she has focused on modern Iranian women’s issues. The Iranian revolution in 1978 has had an impact on Iranian women’s daily lives dramatically as well as reshaped their identities and their role in society. At the core of Masrour’s concern are the injustices, hardships, and torments that innocent people in Iran are enduring. Masrour highlights these experiences from a woman’s point of view. She critiques Islamic fundamentalist beliefs that control people’s life and limit their freedom. Art can be an impactful way to expose the lack of power that women have in their lives, but it can also be dangerous to the maker.
Elena Masrour has drawn inspiration from American comic books to soften the viewer’s entry into her critique. Comic books connect to people of all ages, races, and cultures. Everyone can relate to a character or story they have seen or read in a comic book, as well as to the associated meaning. Masrour found comic books to be very popular in the United States, as opposed to Iran where they are not produced. Iranians have no comic hero or heroines. Masrour makes fun of the men in power by reducing their stature to screaming infantile creatures, while, in contrast, elevating her own. In so doing, she offers her wish for contemporary Iran to become a peaceful, safe place where people can thrive.
What Lies Beneath | Constructed Paintings by Jack Collins
November 11, 2022 – January 20, 2023
Opening Reception | Friday, Nov. 11, 4-6 p.m.
After 40 years of working on canvas, Jack Collins began working on wood panels in 2017. He used collage as a vehicle, painting and cutting and attaching other painted pieces of wood to the picture plane, reorganizing and repainting the pieces until he found an arrangement that was aesthetically pleasing to the artist’s eye. The cut panels created a shallow relief that cast shadows that created the illusion of lines. The panel was largely cut on a table saw yielding only straight edges. Collins found the addition of organic shapes broke down the rectilinear format of painting, creating a new tension.
Soon after, Collins began to recess the wooden attachment into the surface similar to puzzle pieces. The recesses began to deepen, and the pieces attached to the surface created higher relief works. The separation of the recesses and attachments grew to several inches. As the process continued, pieces of the paintings were often removed revealing voids that were assimilated into the work and at times exposed the supporting structure of the work or the wall behind the painting. As the space between the front surface and the back surface expanded, it exposed edges and sides of the protruding sections. This changed the complexity of the work; the painted sides of the relief allowed different views from all angles. From the use of the jigsaw and a sledgehammer, the shards and large chunks of wood added another element to the paintings.
In the last four years, his two-dimensional work became three dimensional. His visual vocabulary increased. Tension in the work increased. Revealing and exploring the interiors of his work added glimpses of the history of the work. The viewing experience for the audience was enhanced through seeing different views from various angles.
The work Collins does has always been informed by process and spontaneity, despite being carefully orchestrated. The ideas now explore opposites, the future and the past, the positive and the negative, the complex and the simple, the calculated and the spontaneous. Each piece he creates is simultaneously an extension from the past, where he’s come from and what he learned, as well as a preview of the future, where he is going next.
Inherent Value | The Art of Joelle Ford
September 30 – October 28
Artist Reception | Friday, September 30, 4-6 p.m.
This young girl wanted to make wild and wacky things when she grew up. Her parents endured the Great Depression and believed value could be found in almost everything. This belief was instilled in their children and has become the basis for Joelle’s art. She uses found objects and items thought to have little value—”idle art”—in her work.
Joelle has made large installations as well as small collages. Even though they are diverse in size and nature, the common thread is the application of unwanted items. These items are sometimes found while walking outside or purchased at garage sales and thrift shops as well as contributed by friends and family. If one item sparks Joelle’s interest, many like items create an even greater interest; therefore, most of her work implements multiples and layering. Searching for new ways of making art and incorporating new material is an ongoing process.
2021 - 2022 Exhibits
Baldwin National Open Media/Open Theme Juried Exhibition
The inaugural Baldwin National Open Media/Open Theme Juried Exhibition is a survey of contemporary art in the United States and includes 50 pieces by 27 artists from 15 states.
About the Juror | Christopher Benson
Born in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1960 to artist parents, Christopher Benson attended the Rhode Island School of Design for three years before moving to New Mexico and California to pursue painting and continuing his education on his own. Benson returned to RISD to complete his BFA in painting in 2005 after receiving the prestigious Pollock-Krasner Foundation Painting Fellowship in 2001. He received a second Pollock-Krasner Fellowship in 2016. His work is included in leading public and private collections including the Museum of Modern Art.
Baldwin National 2022 Artists
Bob Aldrich Audrey Aronson Randall Bennett Jason Bly Andy Brown Fidalis Buehler Jacob Docksey Tracy Finn Joelle Ford
Jacob’s View, John Markowitz
Dave Hanson Joshua Heimsoth Kelly Hrad Christopher Latil John Markowitz Kyle McKenzie Meridith McNeal Cody Norton Andrew Ortiz Brian Petrone Phil Robinson Kimberly Rodey Karen Romani Elizabeth Russell Clayton Salley Clark Valentine Hilda Volkin Vaughn Wascovich
An Artist Collects | November 29, 2021 – January 21, 2022
Gifts to the Baker University Art Collection from Donald and Evelyn Louthian
A long-standing interest and commitment to Baker University studio art and the Baker University art collection endures since Donald Louthian spent several years as a faculty member at Baker directing the Department of Art. He was joined by his wife, Evelyn, in the early 1960s before their departure for California in 1963.
In California, Professor Louthian gave full attention to his studio practice and developed a successful career as an artist. He and Evelyn collected fine art through associations with fellow artists and art dealers. They donated a significant collection of artworks to Baker University in 2012.
The Louthians are again generously contributing work to support the educational experience of students and the larger community. The value of their collections has and will continue to enhance the experiential learning at Baker University.
Dupatta: Journeys of Life and Cultural Identity
Paintings by Shabana Kauser September 3 – October 1, 2021
Artist Reception and Talk | Thursday, Sept. 9, 5-7 p.m.
Influenced by her shared experiences as the daughter of Pakistani immigrants and as an immigrant to the United States, Kauser’s detailed portraits of South Asian immigrant women explore memories of cultural, social, and economic transition. Along with ornate, precisely rendered jewelry, the Dupatta, a traditional scarf worn in South Asian countries, permeates portraits, referencing not only her personal journey, but also those of past, present, and future generations of immigrants.
Shabana Kauser’s work represents beauty, strength, and determination, just some of the traits she saw in women she grew up around. Many immigrant women Shabana knew tapped into all the skills they had to make their new lives in a new land. While learning English, and therefore having limited opportunities, Shabana’s mother started her own business. Her grandmother had taught her mother to sew while she grew up in Pakistan. Sewing traditional clothes for the community through her own business allowed Kauser’s mother to contribute in numerous ways. She is one of many of the many forgotten women who continue to contribute to society, the economy, and communities. Shabana Kauser’s portraits honor immigrant women whose stories are often overlooked.
