‘Cornell Alumni Sculpture’ includes local artists

MOUNT VERNON — Three local artists will be part of the first exhibition of the school year in the Peter Paul Luce Gallery at Cornell College.

“Cornell Alumni Sculpture” features work by Elizabeth Rhoads-Read and Tom Newport of Cedar Rapids and David Rega of Mount Vernon. The exhibition runs Sept. 17 through Oct. 22 with a reception for the artists from 3:30 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 21, Cornell’s homecoming.

A fourth artist, alumna Toby Schreiber of Malibu, Calif., will be featured in a corresponding exhibition, “Classic Greek Attic Style Stoneware,” in the Cole Library third-floor gallery. She will have a book signing Oct. 21 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in King Chapel and deliver a lecture on “Athenian Vase Construction” at 2:30 p.m. in the Keyes Art History Classroom of McWethy Hall.

Rhoads-Read, a 1972 Cornell graduate, has experimented in several art mediums, including paper, used fabric and recycled materials. Nature inspires her work. Her work weaves varying texture and illusive light, interspersed with minute details, concentrating on the forcefulness of dark areas and the contrast between spaces

Newport, a 1977 graduate, creates fabricated stainless steel sculptures that are often outwardly abstract but closely linked to nature and reality. His work is inspired by experience in floral design, jewelry design and a general observation of the world around him.

Rega graduated in 1977, following art studies in Italy. He likes the contrasts that can be found in stone, the variations in color, the fossils, the naturally occurring cavities, fissures and textures that can change from rough and crumbling to a smooth bonelike finish. Working with stone is an exploration of these differences, searching to find the mysteries behind the surface. He works to enhance the contrasts, juxtaposing polished and rough elements, and accentuating the natural stone features to realize the character of the piece.

Schreiber is a 1946 Cornell graduate who has worked as an educator and in the curatorial department of the J. Paul Getty Museum in Malibu. Her research into the construction of ancient Greek vases has taken her to a number of museums both in the Americas and in Europe and eventually led to her book, “Athenian Vase Construction.” Her wheel-thrown, stoneware pieces use a fine-grained clay coated with an oxide, the designs made by graffito and excision.

Luce Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday.