NextThreeDays: Event Display

Artist Benjamin Duke Artist Talk and Closing Reception for "A Situation of Meanings"
Venue: Performance Hall (Covington Center), Radford
Directions: Google Map Link
Organizations: Radford University College of Visual & Performing Arts
Date: Friday, February 23, 2024
Time: 4:00 - 7:00 PM
Event Types: Arts & Theatre, Speaking Engagements
Cost: Free

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Description:
Radford University College of Performing Arts presents Artist Benjamin Duke Artist Talk inside Performance Hall and Closing Reception for his exhibition "A Situation of Meanings" inside the Covington Art Gallery on Friday, February 23, 2024.

Schedule of Events:
• 4:00-5:00 PM: Artist Talk in the Davis Performance Hall in the Covington Center.
• 5:00-7:00 PM: Closing Reception in the Covington Gallery

Benjamin Duke, Artist and Associate Professor of Art at Michigan State University, transported a collection of his works spanning the last two decades to the Radford University Museum of Art for an exhibit entitled A Situation of Meanings. After several years of discussion and nine months of planning, the works will inhabit the Covington Gallery. Duke will give a brief talk before a public closing art reception where he will be present to talk to the public.

As his words suggest, Duke’s paintings create a narrative, or more accurately several narratives, for his audience to explore and interpret. In his work, plausible reality mixes with fantasy and impossibility through the images and the stories emerge. Laughing cats spring up out of nowhere, perspectives curve in a fish-eye lens, people hang in space or compile in variable scales, and buildings assemble or perhaps disassemble without clear cause, but always with effect. The end result is an interplay of playful, positive images amid chaos.

Artist's Statement:
In my art I seek to reflect on the multifaceted reality of our existence, where dramatic events and the tranquility of everyday moments coexist within the same frame. In this collection I seek to reflect on the tensions that define our lives, or at least share those that seem to define my own—from the fraying of the “real,” laughter amidst the ordinary, and companionship amidst the chaos. These individual narratives unfold against the backdrop of larger events. Through the interplay of light and dark, the vibrant and the subdued, these paintings acknowledge both the heroism found in a commitment to daily resilience and the profound impact of unexpected events. Each piece is a contemplation on the human spirit, its strength, vulnerability, and its remarkable ability to find balance amidst the contrasting forces that shape our world.

Admission is free to both events and all are welcome.

To view the event flyer, visit: https://i.postimg.cc/VvJzMqvZ/image.png.

For more information, visit: https://www.radford.edu/content/cvpa/home/news/Releases/ben_duke.html or https://www.radford.edu/content/cvpa/home/art-museum.html or https://www.facebook.com/RadfordUArt or https://www.instagram.com/rucvpa/.