Two art shows open in Memorial Hall

 The first, a show by Mark T. Kreger of Denver, Colo., in the Main Gallery, often depicts young adults trapped in the vastness of an overwhelming existence.

The second, featuring the work of Alexandra Lee of Chicago, Ill., in Gallery 239 includes multi-layered work juxtaposing found historical immigration documents and altered photographs.

Lee, also known as ATYL, said in her artist’s statement that she is inspired by T.S. Eliot’s poetry.

Kreger said art making process is connected to core beliefs and values within a social construct. 

“It is my belief when we are young we are more vulnerable and susceptible to outside influence that unknowingly strips away opportunity, individuality, equality, choice and freedom,” Kreger said in his artist’s statement.

For over two decades the students in his high school art classes have been and continue to function as inspiration for his work.

“They are witnesses and forced participants in a society ruled by corporate manipulation that increasingly markets to them while simultaneously marginalizing and exploiting them. It is this part of their lives that my paintings reveal,” Kreger said.

Most of Kreger’s paintings are a specific snap shot of a chosen student’s life influenced by social and political issues such as immigration, violence, abandonment, poverty, isolation, and anomie.

At the same time, he feels each painting speaks to a larger construct that drives these underlying issues that manifest towards a life ultimately ungraspable and a society in decline.

Kreger is an International Baccalaureate Certified Art Instructor in Westminster, Colo. His work has been displayed in Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, Missouri and Vermont and won a number of awards for his paintings.