Artist reception will kick off LSSU gallery exhibits

NEWS RELEASE

LAKE SUPERIOR STATE UNIVERSITY

*************************
SAULT STE. MARIE, MICH. – Lake Superior State University's two art galleries feature the work of American lithographer Emile Weddige and Michigan artist April South-Olson during August and September.

An artist's reception 4-6 p.m., Aug. 1, opens the South-Olson show in the Arts Center gallery. The Weddige exhibit was installed July 24 in the Kenneth J. Shouldice Library gallery and is featured during regular library hours through Sept 8.

April South-Olson uses the layered effect found in encaustic painting as an exploration of growth, character, and the passage of time. Encaustic technique is also known as hot wax painting, which typically adds coloured pigments to heated beeswax. The mixture is applied to wood in layers, but canvas and other base materials work just as well.

"The encaustic medium allows me to layer the work and develop a history within the piece," says South-Olson in an artist statement. "Each layer helps create the next by guiding the bristles of the brush around elevations and into the deficits. Color from previous layers bleed into the next giving direction to the final surface."

South-Olson lives in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, spending her time, "exercising a peaceful laziness, sitting in a porch swing while my children play in the yard, deriving inspiration from clouds drifting by, the only driving force I need to spend hours a day in the studio."

Emil Weddige (1907-2001), whose work is in the Shouldice library gallery, is universally regarded as one of this country’s foremost artist-lithographers. He is best known for his original lithographs in which he would use a separate stone for each color and hue.

Much of his subject matter pays homage to his Michigan connections, with many prints depicting classic Americana.

Weddige has been showcased in more than 100 one-man exhibitions. His lithographs are in permanent collections of renowned museums, including the National Gallery of Art and the Smithsonian in Washington, DC, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Chicago Art Institute.

Many of his lithographs are in public buildings throughout the United States and Europe.

Lake Superior State University acquired 34 Weddige lithographs in 2016 through a generous donation from Peter and Arlee Tampas of Hancock, Mich. They are now part of LSSU Arts Center gallery’s permanent collection.

The Shouldice library gallery is open 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday, during August. The Arts Center gallery hours are noon-4 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday; 2– 6 p.m. Thursday.

*************************