Delmar Riney Art Gallery to kick off 2012-13 exhibitions Oct. 22

Pratt Community College will host the art of Gordon and Rae Zahradnik of Lyons, Kan. in the newly relocated Delmar Riney Art Gallery this month, as the college kicks off its art exhibition season for the 2012 - 2013 academic calendar.
 
Rae, a 1958 graduate of Fort Hays State University, has served in numerous educator positions throughout the state of Kansas, having worked in Russell as well as Wichita as an Elementary Art Supervisor, and in Sterling at Sterling College as an instructor. Rae has won numerous art awards in exhibits throughout the state, and has long been a masterful worker of the canvas.
 
"Personal fascination with the sheer beauty of form, color, texture, and design motivates me to paint sometimes in a more traditional way," said Rae Zahradnik. "Other times [I’m] more inventive and obviously searching."
 
Gordon, also a graduate of FHSU (‘55 for his B.A. in Art Education, ‘58 for his M.A. in Art Education), spent 42 years of his professional career as an art instructor. His passion for sculpting and educating youth led to a 26 year career at Sterling College, where he was the Head of the Art Department and earned the title Full Professor of Art. Gordon left Sterling in 1989 to work in Wichita at the Northeast Magnet High School as a Fine Arts Instructor, where he turned out the top Scholastic Arts painter in the United States.
 
"My wife paints watercolors. She does landscapes, seascapes, but her work is completely different from mine. I like to have a little surprise in each of my works, I like for the viewer to look at a piece and not necessarily realize that something is a barn or a boat, but rather have them look at it and [after studying the work] say ‘Oh! That is a boat!’," said Gordon Zahradnik.
 
Together, the Zahradniks have compiled a lifetime of art, which is housed in their gallery and studio in Lyons, Kan. They both are watercolorists, and have worked in a variety of other mediums ranging from raku pottery, to painting, to drawing, each with a unique combination of materials.
 
Gordon indicated that this range of media has helped to shape his perspective on life and art, something he hopes viewers of their exhibition take away from their viewing.
 
"Art is everywhere. Art is amongst all of us. Art needs to be elevated throughout our lifetimes, starting in elementary and through adult[hood]," said Gordon. "Too many people tend to retire (from art) and they lose something that could keep them alive potentially for many years."
  
The couple’s exhibit titled "Art of ‘Z’" will be on display beginning Oct. 22 through Nov. 16. The gallery is open to the public from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
 
Additional exhibits will be on campus in the Delmar Riney Gallery this fall as well as in the spring. The roster is as follows:
 
October 22 - November 16: "The Art of Z" - Watercolors and Ceramics by Gordon and Rae Zahradnik
 
November 26 - December 13: "Pratt Community College Student Photography Exhibit" by Stan Reimer, Coordinator, and Pratt Community College Students
 
February 4 - February 22: "Figures & Portraits" - Fort Hays State University, by Joel Dugan (Instructor)
 
February 25: "Academic Olympics Art Exhibit" by High School Art Students, coordinated by Heather Wilson
 
March 4 - March 29: "The Land Sea: Landscape of the Plains" by Fort Hays State University Students & Faculty
 
April 1 - April 19: Regional Exhibit and Juried Art Show, Juried by FHSU Juror
 
April 22 - May 10: Student Exhibit by Pratt Community College Students, entries welcome