The Hilliard University Art Museum at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette will present Dale Kennington’s Mythologies opening on Jan. 8, 2011 and running through April 30, 2011.
Painted in two series, Subjective Mythologies and Contemporary Mythologies, the exhibit will feature selections from both series for the first time at the Hilliard in a show titled, Mythologies. Through the lens of everyday events and situations, Dale Kennington’s Mythologies represents observations of mundane and common experience which are often overlooked and unconsidered by society. By selecting apparently insignificant moments in time, Kennington explores personal and universal mythologies found in contemporary American society.
By directing attention to time and place, Kennington captures moments as if time stood still for several seconds longer than it should— time enough for the artist to record and document those moments in a state of naked reality. Indeed, Kennington makes “time” a figure, a persona, that society seldom acknowledges. Like many mid-20th century American artists, Kennington reflects her time and place in history. Her work is a composite of contemporary artistic discourses involving the use of technology, psychology, and cultural mythologies.
Kennington’s Mythologies will remain as one of the most provocative series of paintings. They are highly personal, and yet, the artist has made sure they are open to multiple interpretations so that each viewer may experience or create his or her personal narrative. There is a timeless quality in painting public places with real people. With new technologies, the realities of Kennington’s work will become myth. No longer will there be a bank of telephones in a public station or the types of automobiles featured in her works. Soon the subway trains and merry-go-rounds will be replaced by new and unique forms of transportation or entertainment. Mythologies communicates the potential for unity found through exposing individual tradition and sharing it with the public. Eventually, ordinary experiences will appear heroic and connected and at that point, they will become mythologies.
Since 1993 Dale Kennington’s work has been featured in several gallery shows which include 15 solo and 29 group museum exhibitions. Her paintings are held in 10 prestigious museum collections, including the Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio; the Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art in Nashville, Tennessee; The Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts; the Mobile Museum of Art; and the personal collection of King Carl Gustaf XVI of Sweden.
The Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum in Lafayette, Louisiana is Acadiana’s architectural landmark and the largest art museum between Houston and New Orleans. The Museum features a variety of changing exhibitions and a continuing schedule of lectures and programs. Come enjoy the Museum and the beauty of University of Louisiana at Lafayette campus, just blocks away from the galleries, shops and famous restaurants of downtown Lafayette and the Oil Center.
Hours
Tuesday –Thursday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Friday 9 a.m. to noon
Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sunday and Monday- Closed
For general information, visit museum.louisiana.edu or call 337-482-2278