Posted by Mary Wimberley on 2008-01-23

Samford University art department chair Larry Thompson will present his inaugural Alabama exhibit, Fractured Narratives, in the Samford art gallery Feb. 1-28.

The show of 18 paintings will demonstrate Thompson's attention to balance, contradiction and metaphor in his work.

"Through a layering process, be it the physical layering of juxtaposed images, the layering of image and text, or different skins of paint or charcoal stacked on each other, I hope the work will bring a viewer in, and allow the viewer to begin a dialogue with the work," says Thompson, who hopes the viewer will then discover "not only a physical layering of design elements, but also layered meaning and content."

Thompson joined the Samford faculty in 2007 after serving seven years as chair of the visual arts department at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkansas. A graduate of the University of Texas at San Antonio, he holds a master of fine arts degree from the University of North Texas.

The Texas native has been a part of group exhibitions in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas. He presented a solo exhibition, "Just Moments," at Peking University, Beijing, China, in 2007.

Samford Gallery hours are 9 a.m.-4 p.m. weekdays. An artist's reception will be held 4-6 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 5. The public is invited.

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 5,791 students from 49 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.