Meditative Art Exhibit “Somnambulant” Debuts in University Gallery

PHILADELPHIA (June 7, 2018) — Works of art often reflect the inner workings of the human mind, revealing their artists through forms that hold conceptual significance. 

Artist Samantha Parker Salazar creates abstract designs using painted and cut paper. Her exhibit Somnambulant, which is on display June 4 through August 4, 2018 in the Saint Joseph’s University Gallery in Merion Hall, reflects this intimate view of the artist’s mind in its intricate marks and in the physical transformation of the materials. It presents a meditation on reality through forms and shapes. There will be no reception for this exhibit, but gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.-  7 p.m., and Saturdays, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

Every line and smudge in the exhibit, as well as its use of positive and negative space, is intentional and conveys Salazar’s reflection on beauty, destruction, and potential. 

“Reminiscent of the ancient Chinese art ‘jianzhi,’ Salazar takes the art of paper-cutting to a new level,” says Jeanne Bracy, gallery director. “The delicate paper envelopes the gallery space with its bold size. Abstract forms and shadowy shapes welcome visitors to step inside a colorful world of intricate webs of paper.” 

Salazar, based in Hilliard, Ohio, earned a BFA from Bradley University in 2011 and an MFA from the University of Texas at Austin in 2014. She was the 2014-15 John Fergus Post-MFA Fellow at The Ohio State University and was won several awards, including the Columbus Arts Festival Emerging Artist Grant and a 2016 Art Kudos Merit Award.

Saint Joseph’s University Gallery is located on the second floor of Merion Hall on the James J. Maguire ’58 Campus at 355 N. Latches Lane in Merion Station, Pennsylvania. A campus map may be viewed online at www.sju.edu/map. For more information, call 610-660-1845, or visit the gallery website at http://www.sju.edu/gallery.