The Newman University Steckline Gallery will present “Subject Matters” by Tara Hufford Walker as the first show of its 2016-2017 season. The exhibit of acrylic paintings, which begins with a Final Friday reception from 5 to 7 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 26, will be on display through Sept. 23. Both the reception and admission to the gallery are free and open to the public.
An “Art for Lunch” presentation by the artist will be held Tuesday, Sept. 6 from noon to 1 p.m. in the gallery. A light lunch will be served on a first-come, first-served basis. Guests can also bring their lunch. This event is also free and reservations are not required.
Walker is a native Wichitan who earned her degree in Art Education with an emphasis in drawing and painting from Wichita State University in 1979. Her 35-year teaching career took her across the Wichita area from the Wichita Art Association to Andover Elementary, and from John Marshall Middle School to Wichita North High School. She has received multiple awards for teaching over the years, including the USD 259 Teacher of the Year award, all while working as a professional artist in watercolor, acrylic, ballpoint pen, and colored pencil.
In 2010, she was awarded the Wichita Arts Council Arts Educator Award. This was particularly an honor for Walker, who said, “I have worked hard at being a producing artist/teacher to dispel the notion that ‘those who can, do—those who can’t, teach.’”
“Subject Matters” features a collection of acrylic paintings that begin with collages, all created by arranging and re-arranging images cut from magazines in an aesthetic montage, then enlarged to scale and transferred to canvas or Masonite panels, Walker said. She said she is particularly influenced by Pop Art and that each painting tells a story that is unique to each individual viewer. “There is no wrong answer, as long as the viewer is inspired to figure out what the images and relationships mean to them,” Walker said.
The Steckline Gallery is located inside the De Mattias Fine Arts Center on the Newman campus, 3100 McCormick. The gallery is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., or by appointment. For more information, call 316-942-4291, ext. 2199.
