The paintings of Grove City College alumna Mary Leone Duffy ‘16 are on exhibit at the gallery of Pew Fine Arts Center on campus through Feb. 21.
"Of Nature and Grace: Selected Artworks from l’École Marchutz” opened Tuesday in the gallery. The show features more than 70 oil paintings from Duffy’s time studying at the Marchutz School of Fine Arts in Aix-en-Provence, France, where she earned a master of fine arts degree in painting.
“I wanted to show works which express the variety and beauty of what can happen when you paint directly from life and nature,” she said.
The title of her show “Of Nature and Grace” alludes to a Flannery O’Connor essay entitled “The Nature and Aim of Fiction,” which described reasons for writing in the same way that Duffy understands her vocation as a painter. Secondly, her works are “of nature” because she paints directly from model, still life or the outdoors. They are “of Grace” because Grace is her middle name.
“I’m deeply grateful to Grove City College for the humanities-rich education it gave me,” Duffy said. “As an artist, I believe that majoring in English and Philosophy strengthened my ability to make thoughtful, beautiful art that speaks to and within the history and tradition of art-making.”
Specifically, she said the Civilization and the Arts course was essential to her artistic development. “I appreciated our in-depth studies of great works of art, and often felt inspired to go paint after seeing such beautiful and diverse works from the history of art,” she said.
The gallery is open to the public weekdays from 4 to 8 p.m. and 1 to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. A reception with the artist is set for 6 to 8:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 7.
All works are for sale unless otherwise noted and price lists will be available from the gallery assistants. Duffy is offering a 10 percent discount to students interested in purchasing her artwork.
For more about the Department of Communication and Visual Arts at Grove City College, visit www.gcc.edu/comm.