Exhibit at CSC honors artist's grandmother

The work of Adrianne Watson of Omaha is on display at the main gallery of Chadron State College’s Memorial Hall this month. Watson said much of the work was inspired by conversations with her late grandmother, Tonie Watson of Bridgeport, who was born in the Philippines and served the U.S. military during World War II. She died Feb. 11 at age 84.

Watson, a 2001 graduate of Chadron High School who earned a master’s degree from the California College of Fine Arts, said she attempts to “unite two entirely different experiences: living in the Philippines during World War II and growing up in rural Nebraska.”

The exhibit features 22 pieces, mostly works of water color and colored pencil that have been digitally transferred to larger format. The centerpiece, “Care Package,” is a mixed media sculpture anchored by a carousel horse.

“As a second-generation immigrant living in the rural Midwest I've experienced an enormous disconnect from my Filipino heritage,” Watson said in her artist’s statement. “Basing my paintings on my grandmother’s stories as well as on my Nebraskan childhood, I create a union of Filipino cultural symbols, young children and wartime machinery. The result is a disarming yet sincere effort to gain familial understanding across the generational divide.”

The artist will attend a public reception for the show Thursday, March 25, 4-6 p.m. at Memorial Hall.

Watson is the daughter of George and Kit Watson of Chadron. Her father is a professor of justice studies at CSC and her mother is an accomplished artist who often teaches courses at CSC.

Watson’s exhibit is not the only show in Memorial Hall that provides a multicultural experience.

Gallery 239 upstairs features the art of Ming Zhou, who describes her work as a critique of China’s new middle class.

Both exhibits are open to the public free of charge through Friday, March 26.