Opening Reception for Art Exhibition Jan. 31

Norman Hall Art Gallery at Arkansas Tech University will host an opening reception for “Bootlegger’s Ballad Series,” an exhibition by Neal Harrington, on Wednesday, Jan. 31.

The reception will take place from 2:30-3:30 p.m. in Norman Hall Art Gallery, 203 West Q Street in Russellville. Admission will be free and open to the public.

“The independent character of the land and the people of the Ozarks region play a distinctive role in the development of my artwork,” wrote Harrington in an artist’s statement posted alongside his current exhibition at ATU. “This area encompasses a fierce and rich landscape full of folklore and mythologies of individuals who have forged their own trail in life. My body of work documents my interpretation of the Ozarks landscape, an area that embraces romanticism and spirituality with a reverence for tall tales.”

Harrington, who holds the rank of professor of printmaking, has served on the Arkansas Tech faculty since 2005. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of South Dakota and a Master of Fine Arts degree from Wichita State University.

“I am a transplant from another region that is just as deeply rooted in mythologizing this same rugged individualism,” continued Harrington in his artist’s statement. “In my home state of South Dakota, I witnessed these characters and understand why they have a vision of how life is, how life ought to be and what life could be. My work depicts this struggle to carve out one’s particular niche and is influenced by music, classical mythology, humor and vice.”

Harrington’s “Bootlegger’s Ballad Series” will remain on display at Norman Hall Art Gallery weekdays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. through Friday, Feb. 23.

Learn more about Norman Hall Art Gallery.