ART x 7: Works by Phillips Exeter Academy art department faculty Nick Dawson, L. Gene Howard, Vivian Moreira Komando, Steve Lewis, Tara Misenheimer, Karen Burgess Smith and gallery manager Sara Zela

Art instructor Nick Dawson's "Watercolor on Paper"

Exeter, NH (December 28, 2007)—Phillips Exeter Academy’s Lamont Art Gallery will present “ART x 7: Works by Phillips Exeter Academy Art Department Faculty Nick Dawson, L. Gene Howard, Vivian Moreira Komando, Steve Lewis, Tara Misenheimer, Karen Burgess Smith and Gallery Manager Sara Zela.” An opening reception for the exhibit will be held on Friday, January 11, from 6:30-8:00 p.m. The Lamont Gallery is located in the Frederick R. Mayer Art Center on Tan Lane. The exhibit is free and open to the public.

Gallery Director Karen Burgess Smith says she’s always looking forward to the art department’s exhibits. “It’s wonderful to see the body of work that my colleagues generate over the course of three to four years. It’s also great to know that we are all somehow fitting our art making into our very busy work lives, as this can be inspiring for our students,” she says.

Nick Dawson is an architect, artist and instructor. Since 1972, he has taught in the art department at Exeter and served as chair from 1983–90. Dawson earned a bachelor’s in art from Dartmouth College, and a master’s in architecture from the University of Pennsylvania. Much of his work is inspired by architecture in his everyday life, particularly by “studio” barns from his past.

Instructor L. Gene Howard's "Chattel House"

 

L. Gene Howard is a photographer and artist who served for 26 years in the Navy as an aerial photographic intelligence specialist. After his retirement in 1992, Howard returned to New Hampshire and earned a bachelor’s from the University of New Hampshire. He began teaching photography at Exeter in 1998 and continues today, focusing on visual composition. “I believe capturing composition in photography is very important. My goal is to give students a greater sense of looking for composition in their photography and in life,” he says.

Art instructor Vivian Moreira Komando's ceramic bowls

Vivian Moreira Komando is an artist and instructor whose work includes sculptural ceramic body casts, wheel- thrown pottery, photography/digital photo collages, drawings and paintings. She holds a bachelor’s from Florida International University, and a master’s and a doctorate from Florida State University. Komando has taught visual arts since 1977 in Florida, Tennessee and New Jersey. From 1981 to 1986, Komando taught photography and Spanish, and was the Assistant Director of Development, at the 9-12th grade Timothy Christian School.She joined the faculty at Exeter in 2005.  “When I am creating (art), I get lost in the process whether it is throwing on the potters’ wheel, painting on a canvas, working with photography and the computer, or casting. Creating is part of my journey, and at times that helps me nourish my soul when I need it the most,” she says.

Art Department Chair Steve Lewis' digital image "Oldsmobile Interior"

Steve Lewis is a photographer and Chair of the Art Department who earned his bachelor’s from Oregon State University in 1978 and his master’s from Rhode Island School of Design in 1982. He has taught at Exeter since 1983, and currently serves as department chair. His photographs have appeared in Fortune, Entertainment Weekly, Wired, Boston magazines and The New York Times. Lewis’ works have also been shown in the Fogg Art Museum in Massachusetts, the Detroit Institute of Art in Michigan, the Portland Art Museum in Oregon and the New Hampshire State Arts Bank. “I feel a deep, visceral connection to the objects and places that I have made images of. In some instances, the photographs tell a story as to what we seek and of what we value. Modern vintage objects are telling of our constant human need to attain perfection, and of our need to find meaning in our personal world,” he says.

Art instructor Tara Misenheimer's "Catalina 68," is an oil on canvas painting

Tara Misenheimer is an artist and instructor who earned a bachelor’s from the University of New Hampshire in 1992, and a master’s in 1995 from Tufts University. She has worked as an art instructor in public and private schools since 1993, and has exhibited her works in New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, New York and California. Misenheimer’s works have also appeared in ArtScope, Art Matters, The Wire and Art New England magazines. “My paintings are visual interpretations of advertisements and photographs from the late 1960s and early 1970s. My source material ranges from Seventeen, Vogue, McCall’s and beauty school manuals. My work seeks to make connections between familiar and fundamental properties of hairstyles and sensationalized commercial objects of the era, such as cars, diamonds, swimwear and fashionable trends,” she says.

"Beijing," by Karen Burgess Smith

Smith earned a bachelor’s in art education in 1974 from the University of New Hampshire and a master’s in humanities from Dartmouth College in 1983. A photographer and former video producer, she taught in the New Hampshire public schools, Saint Anselm College and St. Paul’s School. From 1989–2007, Smith curated over 100 exhibits, and received awards from the American Association of Museums and the New England Museum Association. She served as president of the New Hampshire Visual Arts Coalition, and was appointed to the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts in 2003, and the Chair of the Council by Governor Lynch in 2006. She joined the Exeter faculty in 2003. “I’m a longtime 35mm-film camera/darkroom photographer, and have slowly turned toward digital work. My images reflect my interest in the contrast between the light and the dark in many shooting situations. My body of work since 2005 reflects an interest in different locations and cultures,” she says.

Collage by Sara Zela

Sara Zela, an artist and manager of the Lamont Gallery, earned an associate’s degree in 1997 from the University of New Hampshire and a bachelor’s in fine arts in 1999 from the New Hampshire Institute of Art. Zela’s curating career began in 2004, and she has managed over a dozen art exhibits throughout New Hampshire since then. In 2006, she began working with the Lamont Gallery. Her present body of work is, “in essence, about a process of manipulation—an exploration of how my original painted artwork interacts with other media. The simple act of manipulating many smaller elements to create a larger piece is an expression of growth and added complexity, and while many collages fail, some return to life and grow,” she says.

For more information, please call the gallery at (603) 777-3461. For directions to Phillips Exeter Academy, see our Getting Here page. For more information on other events, please check the News & Events section of the website. Or, for a recorded voice line listing upcoming events, dial: (603) 777-4309. 

Phillips Exeter Academy is a coeducational, independent preparatory school that was founded in 1781 and originated the system of instruction known as Harkness teaching in 1931. In the spirit of its charter to foster both goodness and knowledge, students come from a wide variety of geographic, economic, racial and religious backgrounds. The diverse student body comes from approximately 45 states, the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands and 23 foreign countries.