ALLENTOWN, Pa. — People will have the chance to revisit the artwork of AIDS activist Keith Haring at a new Muhlenberg College exhibit that pays tribute to the Kutztown native.
The college's Martin Art Gallery will unveil three new exhibits starting today.
They are "New Arts Program: Made in Kutztown," "Kommichi: A Continuous Ache" by Rain Black, and "Connective Fibers" by Mallory Zondag.
An opening reception for the three exhibits will be at 5 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23.
Exhibition spaces are accessible via the atrium of the college’s Baker Center for the Arts, 2400 W. Chew St.
'Made in Kutztown'
"Made in Kutztown" features 300 works — paintings, sculptures, prints, works on paper and artist books — by creatives from the New Arts Program, a Kutztown-based residency program.
NAP was founded in 1971 by James. F. L. Carroll. The organization closed in June 2024 after 50 years in operation.
NAP's collection highlights works by late well-known artists such as Haring, whose works became a beacon for AIDS activism in the 1980s and '90s; sculptor Richard Serra; and abstract painter and arts educator Sam Gilliam.
Also on display are works by visual artist Joan Jonas, composer and pianist Phillip Glass and composer Meredith Monk.
The archive of art from NAP was donated to the Martin Art Gallery in the summer of 2024.
While Muhlenberg received hundreds of pieces, other works were donated by NAP to the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution for archival processing.
The exhibit will be on display through Feb. 15.
Exploring Choctaw, Cherokee roots
"Kommichi: A Continuous Ache" is a collection of 13 paintings and collages by local artist Rain Black.
As part of the exhibit, which will run until Aug. 8, there also will be 12 pieces flashed on a TV screen.
Black, a watercolor painter, works in beadwork and twining — a process of making textiles out of thin handmade ropes.
The pieces, which use horror themes to depict hope after trauma and life from death, were inspired by surviving domestic violence in a queer relationship.
Through his art, Black also wanted to explore the process of reconnecting with the Indigenous community.
"I am an unenrolled Choctaw and Cherokee descendant mixed with white [mostly Welsh], and I find it very healing to engage in one's culture," Black said.
Black will lead a discussion about the artwork at 5 p.m. Monday, Jan. 27.
"I'll also be talking about how culture influences my work — from the meaning and significance of different materials to utilizing certain themes as medicine."Artist Rain Black
"I will talk about how I have explored traumatic experiences through artwork and how sharing those reaches other people with similar experiences," Black said.
"I'll also be talking about how culture influences my work — from the meaning and significance of different materials to utilizing certain themes as medicine."
Black's collection will be on display on the Outer Wall inside the gallery.
To learn more about Black's artwork, visit his website.
Fiber art
Mallory Zondag's "Connecting Fibers" will be on display in the Baker Center for the Arts Galleria through May 18.
Zondag uses vibrant bright colors, primarily created by wet felting sculpture, to explore the "imaginary" boundaries between bodies and plants.
"Using fiber art as a vehicle to tell uncomfortable and painful stories creates a dissonance that pushes the observer to wrestle with the themes presented."Muhlenberg College's Martin Art Gallery website
Her vibrant works explore how wet felting, or fiber art, were used throughout history as a part of storytelling, not as a hobby or craft.
"Using fiber art as a vehicle to tell uncomfortable and painful stories creates a dissonance that pushes the observer to wrestle with the themes presented," a description on the gallery's website reads.
"Healing emotional trauma, the search for identity and the dissolution of borders between the body and our environment."
Zondag will teach a series of three workshops at the school:
Sculpting with Wool at 2 p.m., Friday, Jan. 31; Painting with Wool at 5 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 6; and floral felting at 2 p.m., Monday, Feb. 10.
To register or learn more, visit the gallery's website.
The Martin Art Gallery is free to visit and is open during the fall and spring semesters from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays; and noon to 4 p.m. Saturdays.
It is closed during college holidays.
