Last Tuesday (the 4th), Mer and I went down to Akron to the University of Akron. A former student, Whitney, was part of a senior art show, and we had been invited to see it. In a happy and fun juxtaposition of two worlds, the art show was happening on the top floor of Akron’s new and very spiffy football stadium. You would not think it would make a great space to display art, but it does – the top floor has a huge hallway space with lots of windows for lots of natural light. As an added bonus, the views from the top of the stadium are quite fantastic.

The show was very extensive, with 20 or more artists represented. Wednesday was the first night the exhibit was open, so the only other people we saw were several art professors who were judging the show and one or two other people as well. There was no hurry or pressure to get through the works.

Whitney displayed several abstract paintings, mostly based on circles. One piece that I liked a lot used color to create a tremendous sense of depth. I actually though the painting was painted on glass, with part of the painting on the front of the glass and part of it on the back. I did check, and it was just ordinary canvas – it really messed with the eyes (in a good way).

There were several other exhibits that jumped out at us. Right as you entered, you were greeted by two dozen fantastical drawings and sculptures of woodland fairy creatures – some based on mushrooms, some on leaves and branches, and some just made up from imagination. It was very impressive.

There was another abstract art display in one part that I liked very much, especially a green painting that was swirls of different shades of green paint. If you looked very closely, you could make out a thin line of purple paint peeking through – the purple paint looked like it had sneaked in there, and it made me happy.

There was a very impressive building photographer as well. You would not think that pictures of buildings would be all that impressive, but these photos were. The artist had a great eye for geometry, and the photos were unusual angles of buildings that stressed the geometrical features of the architecture.

It was a beautiful day, and the art show was very well done. Not a bad way to spend a Tuesday afternoon.