WILMINGTON — Art professor Hal Shunk is capping off his 37-year teaching career at Wilmington College with a “Retirement Exhibit” opening Aug. 31 and running through Oct. 14 in WC’s Harcum Art Gallery.
A reception honoring the artist is planned for Aug. 31, from 6 to 8 p.m. Refreshments will be served and the event is free and open to the public.
Normal gallery hours are weekdays, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and by special arrangements made through Shunk, the gallery curator and professor of art.
Shunk, who joined the art faculty in 1985, earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Western Kentucky University and his Master of Fine Arts from Pratt Institute. He describes the creation of visual art as a combination of education, experience, knowledge of art history and, “most importantly,” passion.
“I truly enjoy being in the studio making art,” he said. “It is a solitary, meditative act filled with discovery, excitement, frustration and completion.”
The work in this exhibit spans a two-year period ranging from his last faculty sabbatical through this summer. He noted that waterfalls have been a central theme in his work throughout this period, “I was inspired by the falls in Hocking Hills and my imagination took over.”
Shunk reflects upon his time at Wilmington College as an “invaluable” experience.
“I have been blessed with wonderful colleagues, bright students and life-long friends,” he added. “I hope you all have enjoyed my art as much as I have enjoyed making it.”
