Eastern Art Gallery presents bold new faculty works this September

Biennial Art Faculty Exhibition returns with 'Local Grounds, Global Circuits'

by Michael Rouleau

Willimantic, CT (09/10/2025) — Eastern Connecticut State University is hosting its Biennial Art Faculty Exhibition from Aug. 27 to Oct. 3 in the Art Gallery of the Fine Arts Instructional Center. Titled "Local Ground, Global Circuits," the exhibition features the work of faculty artists across a wide range of media, with an opening reception on Sept. 18 at 4 p.m.

"This exhibition brings together faculty whose practices are rooted in New England while speaking fluently to global art histories and current debates," said Julia Wintner, Art Gallery director. "The exhibition highlights artists who have trained or lived across borders - from Korea and China to Iran - and whose work connects local ecologies with transnational lineages in painting, photography, performance, sculpture, design, and ceramics."

"Local Ground, Global Circuits" embodies a spirit of inquiry, remixing canonical traditions while offering fresh perspectives:

• Soojin Kim frames teaching and curating as intercultural exchange, while Qimin Liu bridges American Realism with Chinese modern painting in sustained figure and landscape traditions.
• James Holland's performance-for-camera work transforms snowfall into an analog recording medium, exploring body-environment dialogues and the role of the camera as memory.
• Rob Greene adapts "land art" into a human-scaled form of empathy with a weathering, site-responsive figure created during a 2024 residency with the Westport Land Conservation Trust.
• Afarin Rahmanifar reimagines Persian miniature and Qajar portraiture through a feminist lens, blending myth and autobiography into politically charged collages.
• Mark McKee's mixed-media paintings transform everyday materials into allegories of perception.
• Lora Lee updates editorial illustration and animation for a digital age, while Tao Chen extends Bauhaus principles into screen-based interaction, highlighting design as both civic tool and craft.
• Allison Elia's ceramics stage figures mid-transformation, where color conveys psychological depth.
• Hannah Petrikovski reframes domestic life in her painting "Ella Shalom," weaving intimacy, memory, and diasporic tradition.
• Cynthia Guild distills New England's waterfronts into planes of light and color tied to global trade.
• Brooke Toczylowski's "Shroud #9" merges monoprint, stitch, and plant-based pigments into votive banners for care and repair.
• Additional artists include June Bisantz, Rebecca Moran, Karen Bartone, David Opie, and Paul Michael, extending the exhibition's central premise that "local" is not a limit but a method, and "global" is a responsibility to connect meaningfully.

"Taken together, 'Local Ground, Global Circuits' proposes the faculty exhibition as a seminar in living with canons-honoring them, arguing with them, and expanding who they serve," said Wintner.

Reception and Artist Talks

• Sept. 15 at 2 p.m.: Artist talk by longtime adjunct faculty member Karen Bartone on her circular landscape paintings of Connecticut nature.
• Sept. 18 at 4 p.m.: Opening reception with remarks by Provost Cheryl Wilson.
• Sept. 24 at 4 p.m.: Artist talk by Professor Afarin Rahmanifar on her Persian-inspired feminist collages.

Art Gallery Hours

• Monday, Wednesday & Friday: Noon - 4 p.m.
• Tuesday & Thursday: Noon - 7 p.m.
• Saturday: 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.

More Information

• All events are free and open to the public.
• Contact: Julia Wintner, Art Gallery Director, at wintnerj@easternct.edu or (860) 465-4625.
• Visit: www.easternct.edu/artgallery

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