Exhibition of Gregor's Latest Works Opens in Galleries June 9

Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Art Harold Gregor, who has been called the "dean of the Heartland School of landscape painters," will have an exhibition of his recent paintings and watercolors at the University Galleries at Illinois State University this summer.

"Radiant Plains" will open June 9 and continue through Sept. 13.  An artist's reception will take place from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, July 11, and the exhibition's closing party will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 10.  Admission to the gallery, located in the Center for the Visual Arts at the south end of campus, is free and open to the public. Donations are welcome.

Gregor served on the ISU art faculty for 25 years, retiring in 1995.  Among his honors is a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in 1993-94, the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Illinois Academy of Fine Arts and a Burlington-Northern Award for Outstanding College Teaching.  He has had exhibitions around the world and his works are included in collections throughout the U.S. and in Switzerland, England and France.

Gregor's Web site states that he gained national prominence in the early 1970's within the Photo-realism movement, turning to farm structures and the sweeping horizon of the rural Midwest for inspiration.  Along with the realist landscape depictions, Gregor is known for his unusual Flatscape paintings, which combine an aerial perspective with unique color choices to suggest an essential Midwestern landscape.

In 1995, upon retirement, Gregor began exploring a third aspect called "trail" paintings - colorful abstract paintings derived from scenes of a local walking trail. He continues to paint and show all four modes: realist panoramas, colorful aerial Flatscapes, energetic abstract "trail" paintings and his latest effort, Vibrascapes.

The University Galleries summer hours are noon to 4 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays through Saturdays, and noon to 7 p.m. Tuesdays.  The galleries are closed Sundays.