Live painting work highlights special exhibit
June 22, 2017
University of Alaska Fairbanks College of Liberal Arts Dean Todd Sherman has begun a weeks-long public art demonstration at the UA Museum of the North to accompany the "Polar Passion” special exhibit.
Multiple live broadcasts on Facebook during coming weeks will allow viewers to observe Sherman's progress in real time. Visitors are also invited to watch the painting come to life in the museum lobby.
Sherman, a well-known local artist, has been a professor for over 20 years and became dean of the College of Liberal Arts in fall 2012.
This is Sherman’s largest live painting demonstration to date. The still unnamed piece will be on display with the "Polar Passion” exhibit through the end of the year.
“Polar Passion” contains select works of art collected by Grace Schaible during the past several decades. Schaible, a former UA regent and state attorney general who died June 9, donated hundreds of pieces to the museum. The collection offers a unique perspective into the art of Alaska and the North. It features many polar bear paintings and prints, including one by Sherman on display as part of the exhibit.
Sherman agreed to create a new piece of art — a painted polar landscape — to give visitors the chance to share in a polar bear viewing experience. Visitors are invited to take photos in front of the landscape and share them to social media with the hashtag #PolarPassion.
“This is a really interactive piece," Sherman said. "Visitors from the museum are watching and asking me questions and taking lots of selfies."
The live broadcasts on CLA’s Facebook page will occur Friday, June 23, at 2:30 p.m.; Monday, June 26, at 2 p.m.; and Friday, June 30, at 2 p.m. Museum visitors can observe the artist at work in the lobby for free.
Sherman, who is a UAF alumnus, has exhibited his drawings, paintings, sculptures and prints professionally for more than 30 years. He has produced more than 30 solo shows at galleries across the globe and his work has been featured in more than 150 juried and invitational exhibits.
"I’m really excited to do this because it allows me to not only paint and draw but to paint animals," Sherman said. "I love to paint animals. It is something I’ve always enjoyed. I’m very fortunate to be able to paint as a small part of my work day here at UAF.”
ON THE WEB: facebook.com/UAF.CLA/; www.uaf.edu/museum/exhibits/special-exhibits/polar-passion
CONTACTS: Naomi Horne, 907-474-6464, nehorne@alaska.edu;Theresa Bakker, 907-474-6941, tabakker@alaska.edu