UC Clermont hosts ‘Persist’ exhibit

The exhibition “Persist,” featuring paintings by artist and UC Clermont Professor Kelly Frigard, is on display in the Park National Bank Art Gallery at UC Clermont College May 1 – June 26. A dessert reception will be held noon-1 p.m., Wednesday, May 8, in the gallery.

Frigard received her Master of Fine Arts degree in inter-media art from the University of Iowa in 1996. She has traveled widely to northern climates pursuing her interest in traditional art forms, including weaving, knitting, spinning wool and felting. Frigard received a Fulbright Fellowship to study traditional textiles in Sweden for two years at Saterglantan Hemslojdensgard in Insjon, Handarbetets Vanner, in Stockholm and Jurva College of Arts and Crafts in Finland. In addition to her work in fiber, Frigard’s work includes mixed media, metalsmithing and drawing. She is a professor of Fine Art and co-coordinator of the Fine Arts Area at UC Clermont. Her new show, “Persist,” explores visual and written images, through photography and poetry, surrounding the theme of memory and loss.

“After the loss of my sister, writing became a way to process and frame my thoughts; it provided a structure and a safe haven for the chaos that pain inevitably produces,” Frigard said of her work in “Persist.” “Collecting and composing images, both in visual and written form, allowed me to reassemble a story about both my sister and myself as we journeyed through the world together for nearly half a century.”

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 summer hours are 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and 8 a.m.-4 p.m., Friday. 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.