Sheldon Statewide Exhibition to focus on music, art connection

"Painting Music: Rhythm and Movement in Art," Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery's 2006-2007 Statewide Exhibition, opens June 13 in Lincoln and will be presented in eight additional communities across the state during the next year.

An opening reception for the new exhibition will be from 5 to 7 p.m. June 16 at the Sheldon, 12th and R streets on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln City Campus. The public is welcome at this free event. The UNL School of Music will present a concert and dance performance in connection with the exhibition beginning at 5:30 p.m. in the Sheldon auditorium.

In the past 100 years, music has played a vital role in the stylistic development of visual art. "Painting Music" exemplifies the influence of music on art beginning in the early 20th century with Wassily Kandinsky, Morgan Russell and Stanton Macdonald-Wright, and continuing with the work of contemporary artists such as Robert Natkin and Douglas Peden.

Music has inspired artists who wished to create a pure, transcendental art form and freed them to experiment with nonconventional approaches. By listening to music and emulating it in their work, artists have discovered new techniques and methods.

The Sheldon Statewide Exhibition is an outreach program of the Sheldon Gallery and UNL. Since its inception in 1987 the program has reached approximately 270,000 people with exhibitions in 24 communities across the state. Approximately 25 works of art, mostly paintings including pieces by Romare Bearden, Stuart Davis, John Cage, Paul Klee and Man Ray, are in the new exhibition.

Sharon Kennedy curated "Painting Music" and she directs Statewide Arts Connection, a program that trains teachers how to incorporate the visual arts into their classes. For more information go to sheldon.unl.edu, click on Education and then click Statewide Arts Connection, or call (402) 472-3541.

The exhibition is made possible by the generous support of the membership of the Nebraska Art Association, the Nebraska Arts Council, James and Rhonda Seacrest and Lonnie Pierson Dunbier.

Schedule for the 2006-2007 Sheldon Statewide Exhibition:

* June 13-Aug. 13: Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery, Lincoln
* Aug. 17-Sept. 24: Concordia University, Seward
* Oct. 9-Nov. 12: McKinley Center, North Platte
* Nov. 14-Dec. 14: High Plains Museum, McCook
* Jan. 3-28: West Nebraska Arts Center, Scottsbluff
* Feb. 2-March 6: Columbus Art Gallery, Columbus
* March 8-April 6: Morton James Public Library, Nebraska City
* April 10-May 13: Stuhr Museum, Grand Island
* May 15-June 24: Edgerton Center, Aurora

The Philip Johnson-designed Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery houses a permanent collection of more than 12,000 objects focusing on American art. The Sheldon is open to the public Tuesday through Sunday. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Fridays; and noon to 5 p.m. Sundays. Admission is free. For information or to arrange a tour, please call (402) 472-2461. Additional information is available on the Sheldon Web site, www.sheldon.unl.edu.

CONTACT: Tom White, Public Relations Manager, Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery, (402) 472-1197