Artist Draws on Nature, Maps

GAMBIER, Ohio (September 29, 2008) Artist Tim McMichael blends his vision of natural structures and cartography into delicate drawings and prints that are embedded dimensionally within resins of varying opacity and are exhibited as "site Unseen" from October 2 through November 1, 2008, in the Olin Art Gallery at Kenyon College.

McMichael will discuss his work at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 16, in the Olin Auditorium, and a reception will follow in the gallery.

McMichael combines the traditional tools of drawing, such as ink and gouache, with volcanic ash and resin to achieve depth and plasticity. The daisy, fossils, and honeycomb are among natural subjects that have been interpreted by McMichael. The artist said his conceptual experiments "attempt to expose and question some of the similarities and differences between the constructed and the natural."

His prints are distinguished by layers composed of elements relating to nature, such as fossil forms, and constructed systems, such as mapping and chart making. "My work is an exploration of identity, preservation and the synergy of these elements with direct and indirect connections to natural and constructed systems," McMichael said.

The artist is based in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he has exhibited at Clay Street Press; Contemporary Art Center, Cincinnati; and the Weston Art Gallery.

The exhibit is free and open to the public. The gallery, in the Olin Library at 103 College Dr., Gambier, is open 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. For more information on this exhibit and on the gallery, contact Dan Younger, gallery director, at youngerd@kenyon.edu or 740- 427-5346. Visit www2.kenyon.edu/artgallery for more information on the gallery and its schedule.