Indiana artist selected for New Harmony exhibit celebrating bicentennial

The University of Southern Indiana's New Harmony Gallery of Contemporary Art is hosting the exhibition A Changing Landscape by Indiana artist Tom Keesee. The exhibit is free and will be open to the public from July 30 through September 11. A public reception will be held as part of the Fall Art and Antique Stroll at 4 p.m. Saturday, August 27 at the gallery.

The exhibition is the first of a two-part series meant to highlight the diversity and talent of Indiana artists during the bicentennial year. Mark Ruschman, chief curator of fine arts for the Indiana State Museum, selected Keesee's landscape paintings for the exhibit.

"Tom's work has immediate appeal to me," said Ruschman. "He layers the paint, giving his work a lush sculptural appeal. When finished, you not only admire the image he's crafted, but the working process and the physical presence of the paint on canvas. For me, it's the balance between these two qualities that give his work meaning."

Keesee's work utilizes traditional painting techniques and concepts to address the contemporary landscape of Indiana, such as his use of sky as the predominant aspect of many paintings.

"The loss of the majority of our natural areas has led me to seek out the picturesque where it is untouched by mankind," said Keesee. "In Indiana, that means painting the sky. The sky is out of reach. It remains our last connection to nature."

Tom Keesee obtained a bachelor's degree from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and a master's degree in painting from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Keesee currently teaches at the University of Saint Francis in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

The exhibit is made possible in part through support from the Indiana Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts. The gallery is a program within USI Outreach and Engagement and is located at 506 Main Street in New Harmony, Indiana. Regular hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. For more information, contact Garry Holstein at 812-682-3156 or visit USI.edu/nhgallery.