JCSM Curator’s Work Recognized

AUBURN, Ala.- Dennis Harper, curator of collections and exhibitions at the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art, is holding a one-person exhibition at the Valeria McCullough Murphey Art Gallery at Wesleyan College in Macon, Ga. March 18-April 29, 2009.
Marilyn Laufer, director of the JCSM said, “One of the things that makes Dennis a great curator is his ability as an artist. Being an artist he is very sensitive and knowledgeable about aesthetic issues.”

A selection of Harper’s recent and older egg tempera paintings will be displayed in the exhibition. According to the Society of Egg Tempera Painters, “Egg tempera is a painting process that uses egg yolk to bind pigments. The artist must manufacture the paints him or herself by the simple process of mixing finely ground pigment, water and dilute egg yolk.”

Harper joined the JCSM staff in March 2008. He came to Auburn from the Georgia Museum of Art, where he was curator of exhibitions.

Before residing in Georgia he was employed as collections manager at Wildenstein and Co. in New York City for eight years. His work has been written about or appeared in many publications including: American Artist, Atlanta Journal Constitution, New American Paintings, New York Times, Oxford American and the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Harper earned a MFA from the University of Georgia in 1992 and a BA from the University of Alabama of Birmingham in 1978. He taught studio classes at the University of Georgia for more than ten years and has lead workshops on egg tempera painting and gilding.

The gallery is open Monday through Friday, 10 am–noon, 12:30–5 pm. The opening reception is March 18, 6–7:30 pm and is free and open to the public. For more information about the gallery or exhibition contact the Murphey Gallery, Wesleyan College: (478) 757-5189.

CONTACT: Colleen Bourdeau, (334) 844-7075, cbourdeau@auburn.edu