Photo credit: Kriech-Higdon Photography
Louisville native Meredith Harber has 14 acrylic paintings on public display in Bellarmine University’s McGrath Gallery, in the Wyatt Center for the Arts, through Saturday, September 29. The free exhibition is sponsored by Bellarmine’s
art department.
The McGrath Gallery is open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. All McGrath art events are free and open to the public.
Harber’s "Frac/tured" collection showcases human emotions and challenges others to accept mental health as a societal norm. Harber said: “I’ve recently gone through different emotions because of my mood disorders and I wanted to convey to people that mixed emotions are very normal and a beautiful thing.”
The collection uses abstract art to capture several emotions. Harber said: “People really connect to color and color connects a person to emotion. I wanted people to see the beauty in it and the boldness.”
In 2013, Harber graduated from the University of Kentucky with two degrees - studio arts, with a focus in painting and drawing, and art administration. She lives in Louisville.
This is Harber’s first solo show, and it was unexpected. Caren Cunningham, director of Bellarmine’s arts administration program, is her aunt. Her grandmother is also an artist. Together, the three planned to do a generational show, but it ended up being a solo show for Harber.
Harber said, “Leading up to it, I felt all the emotions, excited, nervous, terrified, over the moon, but looking back I feel very validated in my career path, accomplished and determined.”
Harber has already sold five pieces from her "Frac/tured" exhibition.
“I really tried to paint each piece alone and I was afraid that each vibe wouldn’t be cohesive together,” Harber said, “But the brush strokes and colors make them just as good in a group and alone.”
Bellarmine University is located at 2001 Newburg Road, Louisville KY, 40205. The Wyatt Center is across from Frazier Hall. [campus map]
Article by Molly Jett, intern in Bellarmine's Office of Communications & Public Affairs.