'Contact' exhibit opens at UC Clermont

The exhibition “Contact,” featuring recent works by artist Ivan Ivanov, is on display in the Park National Bank Art Gallery at UC Clermont College Nov. 7-Dec. 13. An opening reception will be held in the gallery from 3:30-4:30 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 7.

The show features mixed-media paintings in which Ivanov pictures environments and their inhabitants in an attempt to glimpse their interactions within a context of intense transformation. The works are inspired by close observations of nature and by diverse ideas from philosophy and theoretical physics.

“A process of accumulation and reduction shapes the imagery,” Ivanov said. “Although the works appear vibrant and lively on the surface, the viewer is invited to wonder further about the fragile nature of our shared future.”

Ivanov grew up in an artistic family and was introduced to the visual and performing arts at an early age. He continued his higher education first at the National Fine Arts Academy in Sofia, Bulgaria, then in the United States, at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia. After graduation, Ivanov moved to the Midwest and has worked as a visual artist for more than 20 years. He has participated in numerous solo and group art exhibits in Europe and the U.S. and currently lives and works in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The Park National Bank Art Gallery is located in the Snyder Building on the UC Clermont College campus in Batavia at 4200 Clermont College Drive. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.–5 p.m.  For more than 20 years, the spacious 1,000-square-foot gallery has offered visual art exhibits open to UC Clermont students, faculty, staff and the general public.