The Hand Art Center at Stetson University will open two exhibits of distinction with an opening reception on Friday, Jan. 24, from 6-8 p.m. The public is invited to attend, at no charge.

Oscar Bluemner: The Language of Trees is a reflection of the artist’s intense identification with nature that assumes a markedly human character. (Pictured: Winter Night, New Jersey, 1930, watercolor and tempera mounted on board, 10 x 13 ½ in., Vera Bluemner Kouba Collection, Stetson University.)

“My inspiration for this particular exhibit came from the recent news in the spring that Stetson was officially named (for the second year in a row) a Tree Campus USA,” said Roberta Favis, professor emerita of Art History, and curator of Stetson’s Vera Bluemner Kouba Collection. “Since trees are such an important expressive subject for Bluemner, it seemed appropriate to celebrate his trees in an exhibition on our “Tree Campus.” Favis’ “Curator’s Talk” will be on Wednesday, Feb. 19, in Room 25 in the Instructional Media Center, in the duPont-Ball Library, 134 E. Minnesota Ave.

“Appraising the 25 artworks in this exhibition,” said Tonya Curran, director of Stetson’s Hand Art Center, “one can discover in each image a distinctive inflection of Oscar Bluemner’s language of trees.” This exhibit will close May 5.

Postwar Modernists: A selection of works from the Brenau University Permanent Collection includes 27 works on paper of some of the world’s most renowned post-World War II artists, including Helen Frankenthaler, Robert Rauschenburg, Andy Warhol, Frank Stella, Alexander Calder and Louise Bourgeois. “This exhibit is a “must” for every art lover and art historian in Volusia County,” said Curran.

The Hand Art Center will now be open on Saturdays from noon-4 p.m. this spring. “Don’t miss your chance to see these eclectic works from some of history’s greatest artists,” said Curran. This exhibit closes Feb. 27.

In 2009 the Homer and Dolly Hand Art Center opened at Stetson University with a primary mission of housing and providing exhibition space for the artworks from the remarkable legacy of modernist painter Oscar Bluemner (1867-1938). Changing exhibitions in the Bluemner Gallery are designed to introduce the public to the depth and breadth of the collection and to educate viewers about the historical and aesthetic importance of the work of Oscar Bluemner.

Stetson University’s Hand Art Center is located in the university’s Palm Court, at 139 E. Michigan Ave. It is open Monday – Friday 11-4 p.m., and Saturdays noon-4 p.m. It is closed during university holidays.

For more information, please contact Tonya Curran, director of the Hand Art Center at [email protected], or call (386) 822-7271.