Students display artwork at Converge Gallery

Lycoming College 2013 graduates Karen Kaetzel and Kasey Lyon, along with seniors Sarah Banatoski and Faith Emerich, have artwork on display at Converge Gallery in downtown Williamsport.

Casey Gleghorn, gallery director, doesn’t usually show off student pieces at his gallery, but decided otherwise when he saw the quality of work by the students.

“I believe that Lycoming art should be a part of the downtown scene,” said Gleghorn. “The great thing about displaying their work is that it gives them real world experience; a good taste of what it’s like out here. They’re showing their work in a legitimate contemporary gallery next to some big artists.”

Kaetzel, of Bloomingdale, N.J., is displaying three digital photographic prints. As described by Lawrence Charles Miller, artist and gallery assistant, they are thought-provoking and appear to require 3D glasses to be seen properly. “This raises some interesting questions about what we are really equipped to see, or even to know,” Miller said. “Each piece is a stand-alone, but together they read as a photographic documentary that leaves us searching.”

Lyon, of Canton, has an untitled steel sculpture on display that has a patina enhanced with acrylic and enamel paint. “An organically shaped section of the rectangular steel plate has been removed and reattached in relief so that it levitates beyond the surface,” Miller said. “This configuration causes dynamic optical effects. The tension between two and three dimensional space creates a sort of life force.”

Banatoski, of Maynard, Mass., is displaying jewel-like mixed media pieces that carry a cryptic narrative. Some of her works include Indian miniatures that are small windows into a human drama. Banatoski combines photographs and drawings of people with paint, text, signs, symbols and assemblage. “These images tell stories that seem simultaneously specific and universal,” Miller said. To learn more about Banatoski, click here.

Emerich, of Shamokin, has a landscape painting called “No Trespassing” on display. “This is a mysterious scene that pulls the viewer past a no trespassing sign, an orange barricade, an iron bridge into a mysterious industrial setting,” Miller said. “This is a powerful work that succinctly expresses the zeitgeist.” Her work was on display at Converge for a short period before it was bought by an art collector from Philadelphia, Gleghorn said.

When asked why these students were chosen to exhibit their artwork, Lycoming art professor Seth Goodman said, “I think the greater community of Williamsport looks to the art department at Lycoming as a major driving force in the visual arts.”

Lycoming College is a four-year, residential liberal arts and sciences school dedicated to the undergraduate education of 1,400 students. Its rigorous academic program, vibrant residential community and supportive faculty foster successful student outcomes. Lycoming offers 36 academic majors and is recognized as a Tier 1 institution by U.S. News & World Report. Founded in 1812 and located near the banks of the Susquehanna River in Williamsport, Pa., Lycoming is one of the 50 oldest colleges in the nation. For more information, visit www.lycoming.edu.