Painting National Exhibition at The University of Southern Mississippi

Museum of Art/Gallery of Art and Design Museum at The University of Southern Mississippi. Installation view of the 2021 Painting National Exhibition.

Noradrenaline Dilation, oil on canvas, 40 x 30 inches, 2021.

This exhibition examines contemporary painting practices in the United States. Juror Susan Palmisano used this opportunity to look at the breadth and vitality of painting today. The show, according to Palmisano, “ brings together a chorus of rich and varied artistic voices, representative of today’s painting practice.”

My work Noradrenaline Dilation is part of the exhibition and I’m excited to recieve one of a few honorable mentions, among the 55 paintings included in the show. In her presentation Palmisano describes Noradrenaline Dilation by saying “I thought this work was really risky in its simplicity, but is very powerful at the same time.”

This work is about the chemistry of emotion. It relates color to the role of neurotransmitters that regulate our moods. Here color acts as a metaphor for Noradrenaline which repels a gray nimbus. Noradrenaline is a transmitter, similar to adrenaline, that increases levels of alertness priming us for action. It also increases our blood pressure and widens our air passages.

I would like to thank The University of Southern Mississippi’s Museum of Art for making the show possible and its Gallery Director, Mark Rigsy, for all of his hard work in making the show a success. I’ve included links to the Museum website and a video walkthrough of the exhibit.

Links:

Museum of Art/Gallery of Art and Design Museum at The University of Southern Mississippi