New art professor exhibits in Sterling College Gallery

STERLING — He is a male with two names who has researched mathematics, philosophy and artwork. He has had a lot of essays in publications like The New Criterion. Until four months in the past, he and his spouse and four young children, all under the age of 13, have been residing on a 28-foot sailboat off the coastline of Florida. Now, he and his spouse and children reside in land-locked Sterling where by he spends times in entrance of Sterling School college students researching Art & Design and style as properly as doing the job on his have artwork. He is Sterling College’s new Artwork Professor, Brian Prugh, whose exhibition “Meditations” runs at the Sterling University Artwork Gallery from Sept. 13-29.

Prugh, his wife Anna, and their young children Roo (13), Zibby (10), Mia (7), and Xani (4) had been residing off-grid off the coastline of Florida for 5 several years until eventually they moved to Sterling in May perhaps. He documented the journey on his YouTube channel, Sailing Blowin’ in the Wind, which has observed an worldwide audience.

Prugh goes by the identify Tom Split for his artwork and composing.

“My ‘art name’ is really just a form of my provided identify,” Prugh claimed. “‘Break’ is a translation of the root of ‘Prugh’ that’s much easier to pronounce. ‘Tom’ is my confirmation identify. I’ve begun utilizing the identify for a selection of causes, but I assume the most essential is that it’s served me to different myself and what I want out of lifestyle from the perform.”

He researched math and philosophy in university. “But the matter that I understood I was exploring for could ideal be observed through visual artwork, so which is exactly where I in the end ended up.” 

Tom Crack has exhibited operates nationally in professional, nonprofit, and faculty galleries and has will work in non-public collections nationally and internationally. 

“Meditations” brings alongside one another items of two bodies of work. There are three is effective manufactured from slice and layered black tulle – a clear material utilised for ballet tutus, amongst other matters. There is also a sequence of text paintings primarily based on the classic stations of the cross.

“The 3 tulle functions are each individual linked to a individual of the Trinity, so I have been grouping them jointly beneath the broader title ‘Meditations on the Trinity.’ When I was putting the demonstrate jointly, I realized that the Stations have been meditations, as well, so that’s why I trapped with that title.”

Break explains his use of tulle, “During a period of time of powerful materials investigation, I recognized that when I hung tulle on the wall, the substance looked exactly the similar as its shadow, so it established a ‘reflection’ on the wall. It produced a great deal of genuinely fascinating perceptual effects that finished up flowing into the information of the is effective.”

His perform on the stations of the cross came out of a sequence of paintings in which he would paint a textual content on to canvas, and then adjust and re-alter. He reported, “I altered till it go through effectively, that is, until finally the practical experience of reading the textual content seemed fitting to the text that was remaining study,” he explained. 

Prugh designs to host 3 exhibitions of professional artists, starting off with his possess, as a result of the yr furthermore various pupil art reveals.

“I assume it is really important for every person, primarily higher education pupils, to encounter authentic will work of artwork that are staying made correct now and that are searching immediately after those people deep truths that our monitor and graphic lifestyle would like to distract us from viewing,” he claimed.

Prugh hopes to present get the job done that is both modern day and tough and assist the viewer to come to feel people invisible realities that assist a maturing Christian faith – which is in keeping with Sterling College’s mission.

The exhibition “Meditations” will be at the Sterling Faculty Art Middle Gallery at the corner of Washington and Eighth Road in Sterling. There will be an opening reception for the exhibition from 4-6 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 13. The Gallery is open up 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. There is no admission cost.