Madelon Powers Gallery at ESU Presents “At Last Which Thrives” and “Hi June” August 26 Through October 3

Realistic 3D-printed sculptures of native plants from the Pocono region created by Associate Professor of Art Darlene Farris-LaBar using ESU’s new 3D printer will be featured in At Last Which Thrives, an exhibit in Madelon Powers Gallery Sept. 2 through Oct. 3.
Two exhibits, At Last Which Thrives and Hi June, will open the 2014-15 season of East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania’s Madelon Powers Gallery located in the Fine and Performing Arts Center, Normal and Marguerite streets, East Stroudsburg.

Hi June, located on the mezzanine, will feature paintings and drawings reflecting impressions of the university and the Stroudsburg area by Jun Liu, who was a visiting professor in 2011 as part of ESU’s partnership with Shanghai Normal University. Hi June will be displayed August 26 through September 5.

The main gallery will feature At Last Which Thrives, an installation of 3D-printed, local native plants; video art (in 3D); sound; illustrations, and more, by Darlene Farris-LaBar, associate professor of art at ESU. At Last Which Thrives will be featured September 2 through October 3.

Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Tuesdays and Wednesdays and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays.

A reception for both artists will be held on Wednesday, September 3 from 4-7 p.m. in the gallery. The exhibits and reception are open to the public at no cost.

Liu was one of the first scholars to visit ESU’s art department from Shanghai Normal University. His paintings reflect the world of his imagination where colors, light and peace are expressed in swirling designs. Currently an instructor of graphic design at Shanghai Normal University, Liu believes that Stroudsburg was an important part of his artistic life. In an effort to give back, he is making available one of his paintings for a silent raffle to benefit a local non-profit organization. All other paintings will be for sale.

In an attempt to shift the audience’s experience about the environment, Farris-LaBar’s exhibit will present 3D-printed native plant sculptures, video art, sound, and 3D mixed media wall pieces. Some of the species and landscapes represented can be seen by wandering in various protected and preserved lands of the Pocono region.

“Working in 3D offers unlimited possibilities to communicate,” Farris-LaBar noted. “In recent work, my studio has partially existed within protected and preserved lands. I then use 3D printing, and software technology to recreate small native plants that one may see within these locations.”

Farris-LaBar sees her work as providing “education and awareness about a changing culture and vulnerable environment” and hopes to “reveal hidden natural treasures before pristine land disappears.”

A member of the ESU faculty since 2006, Farris-LaBar was one of the art department’s faculty members involved in the establishment of the university’s new G3Design Lab, which features state-of-the-art equipment for 3D printing.

Farris-LaBar teaches graphic design, 3D design, and sculpture, and incorporates 3D printing and CNC prototyping equipment into her class projects. She has exhibited her work and presented in the U.S. and internationally, including in Shanghai, China and most recently in San Paulo, Brazil.

Also a graphic designer and muralist, Farris-LaBar earned a degree in digital media arts from the College for Technology in New York, N.Y., after earning a Master of Fine Arts at Purchase College, State University of New York. She also earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She has studied art in Italy and also at Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine. Farris-LaBar is the facilitator for the art department’s partnership with Shanghai Normal University.

For more information about the exhibits or the reception, contact the Fine and Performing Arts Events line at 570-422-3483 or email esuarts@esu.edu.

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