“Within the Landscape”
David Mudrinich, Russelville, AR – Oil, Pastel, Watercolor, Conte Crayon

Artist David Mudrinich will present his exhibit, “Within the Landscape,” in the Merkle and Price Galleries from October 3-30. “As an artist, I have always been intrigued with a sense of place; the various characteristics that make any particular location unique,” Mudrinich said. “This can include the natural geographic features of the landscape, as well as the visual impact that human activity has left on the land.” A culled version of David Mudrinich’s solo exhibition “Within the Landscape,” featuring drawings, graphics, and paintings of the Natural State, has been traveling Arkansas and is currently on display at the Stephens Gallery at the Walton Fine Arts Building at the University of the Ozarks in Clarksville. A larger, expanded version of “Within the Landscape” will be on display at SAAC. An artist reception will be hosted by the visual arts committee on Saturday, October 3 from 6-8p.m. The exhibit and reception are free and open to the public.

About the Artist

Mudrinich, a landscape painter, was born in 1953. A native of Pennsylvania, Mudrinich studied at Penn State University and the University of Georgia. Over the years he has worked a variety of jobs to support his family and pursue his art career. These included working in a steel mill, in building construction, as a technician in forestry research and teaching. All the while, he developed his art along themes that dealt with nature and the environment. He works in a variety of drawing and painting media, including oil paint, acrylic, watercolor, pastel, ink, charcoal and pencil.
Mudrinich has taught art at Arkansas Tech University since 1998 and was promoted to professor of art in 2011. He previously taught at Emmanuel College in Georgia and at the University of Georgia Center for Continuing Learning.
“As an artist, I have always been intrigued with a sense of place and the various characteristics that make any particular location unique,” Mudrinich said. “This can include the natural geographic features of the landscape as well as the visual impact that human activity has left on the land. I mostly do drawings and smaller color studies on site and then work a larger piece in the studio. I rely on memory and will occasionally include a photograph to help as a reference, but the full experience of actually being within the color and sound of a particular place is what I find important and motivating. Patterns, rhythms and interrelationships become more revealed. Everything within the environment is subject to change, whether it is the movement of the wind, the transition from day to night, the cycle change of the seasons or human alterations of the land. This continuous change allows me to visit a place repeatedly and always experience something new.”
Mudrinich said that “Within the Landscape” includes some expansive views of space, on-site studies, and a subgroup of works based on more intimate observations.
“Within this last grouping, I have been creating a series on beehives,” he said. “The farm next to where I live has a bee yard that I see every day. I am intrigued by the visual rhythm created as the hives are arranged within the landscape. Many of the apiaries I come across are at abandoned locations that were once a home, school or business. They seem to symbolize a regeneration of purpose in what was once an active place. Their placement seems to make a statement about measuring time resembling, in my mind, Stonehenge or some sort of sundial configuration.”
His work is exhibited widely and he has received awards on both the regional and national level. Exhibitions include shows at the Arkansas Arts Center, Butler Institute of American Art, Springfield Art Museum, Clinton Presidential Center, Wichita Center for the Arts, Schenectady Museum, NY, St. John’s University and Georgia Southern University. Public collections of his work include the William J. Clinton Foundation; Hendrix College; Arts and Science Center of Southeast Arkansas; State of Georgia Art Collection; Athens-Clarke County Courthouse in Georgia; North Georgia College & State University; Parkersburg Art Center in West Virginia, and St. Frances Cabrini Hospital in Alexandria , La.

Lobby Gallery
Permanent Collection
Exhibit October 3-30
Reception Saturday, October 3

Exhibits Free and Open to the Public each Monday – Friday 9am-5pm
Weekends by appointment.