The Eleanor D. Wilson Museum at Hollins University will originate the first major site-specific exhibition in the region by artist Barbara Bernstein. Barbara Bernstein: Things are not what they seem, nor are they otherwise incorporates architectural references culled from the university’s historic campus.  Familiar elements of columns, streams, benches and walkways will be interpreted in two and three dimensions. Bernstein creates her works with simple, manufactured, predominantly black and white materials including electrical tape and foam core. The viewer is invited to see and experience a familiar environment in unfamiliar, surprising ways.

“I am both sustained and challenged by the traditional principles of drawing such as line, shape and perspective. In my installations I aim to dispute and expand upon these accepted and customary guidelines in perplexing, amusing and surprising ways. The rooms I build and create invite the opportunity of being able to walk into, and be surrounded and consumed by, illusion.” – Excerpt from Bernstein’s Artist Statement, 2009.

Bernstein’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, including at the Carnegie Museum of Art, the Torpedo Factory, and the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China.  She is currently the Artist in Residence at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts in Amherst, Virginia, and has taught at several national institutions including Yale University.

Things are not what they seem, nor are they otherwise opens tomorrow, Thursday, July 16, with an artist lecture at 6:00 pm in the Niederer Auditorium of the Visual Arts Center.  A reception will immediately follow.  Additional exhibition programming will include a grant writing for artists workshop given by Bernstein that will be co-sponsored by The Arts Council of the Blue Ridge. The workshop will demystify the process of grant writing for both individual artists and collaborative projects. In a step-by-step approach, it covers the complete cycle of grant writing, including preparative research, interaction with funders, budget development, writing proposals, and assessment of the process.

The Eleanor D. Wilson Museum at Hollins University, a premiere arts destination in the Roanoke Valley, features the work of nationally renowned artists, emerging figures, and regional names. The Museum mounts exhibitions that explore currents in modern and contemporary art as well as presents work from the permanent collection.  Museum hours are Tuesday – Friday, 10 am – 4 pm, and Saturday, 1 – 5 pm; closed during university breaks.  Admission is always free.