This semester’s Connie A. Eastburn Gallery features the art series Invisible Thread by Laura Sallade. ł§˛ą±ô±ô˛ą»ĺ±đ’s work relies on several unique mediums including glass, silver, and resin. As the mediums are used, Sallade interacts with them to reveal layers, marks, and remains. Through this process, Sallade hopes to communicate “a mysterious and paradoxical understanding of the world, highlighting our transient and skewed perception of light through observation and materiality.” 

These effects, however, are not strictly planned. Sallade opts to ignore micromanaging the creative process: “Instead of planning every step of the process and resigning to a predetermined outcome, I allow the process to surprise me.” Sallade draws inspiration from artists such as John Cage, Pat Steir, Jose Parla, and Sam Gilliam while also relying on conveying personal emotional memories and capturing fleeting moments from her subconscious to carry this conversation through her artwork.

ł§˛ą±ô±ô˛ą»ĺ±đ’s Invisible Thread series offers a unique approach to creating and defining art. While her works can be hung as paintings, they are also sculptural in their essence, balancing image and object. The outcomes featured in the gallery include “Caustic Capsule III,” “Dark Water 01,” “Urban Chaos 01,” and several others. Ultimately, her goal with them is to create pieces that offer a space to think critically, pay attention, and reflect. 
Invisible Thread will be on display through March 3. For more information on Sallade and her work, visit cairn.edu/arts.

This past semester, the reached out to Cairn’s visual arts department requesting a project. The project parameters consisted of six individual murals that were to represent one of the FLDC’s six core values: Faith, Liberty, Justice, Unity, Hope, and Love. Six artists were then commissioned to take on the project, each selecting a value they were most passionate about. Throughout the semester, they worked diligently to blend their personal artistic creativity with a passage of Scripture chosen to inspire and inform their piece.

In November, the artists traveled to the FLDC to unveil their work. Situated within the bustling city of Philadelphia, just across the street from the prominent Liberty Bell, the Center is difficult to miss—especially with the brightly painted murals hanging outside the Center. 

Not only are the murals a representation of the Center’s values, they are also infused with gospel themes as they relate to the core values. So as crowds passed by every day for the two months the murals were on display, our artists’ work clearly proclaimed the gospel through the universal language of art.

To learn more about our visual arts programs, visit cairn.edu/sciences.

A series of six silk screen prints designed by award-winning artist Laurence Morris (1950–2019) is currently on display in the Connie A. Eastburn Gallery at 91łÔąĎ. Morris based his spectacular Revelation Series on the final book of the Bible, featuring scenes from John’s apoplectic visions. 

Revelation Series was first created in 1972 for Morris’ senior thesis project at the Philadelphia College of Art (now University of the Arts). His six prints are titled “Wars and Rumors of Wars,” “Patience of the Saints,” “Coming of the Lord,” “The Last Seven Plagues,” “The Lake of Fire,” and “Marriage of the Lamb.” Finding inspiration from medieval and renaissance sacred art, 20th century surrealism, contemporary issues, and Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, Morris shared that he designed his series for “the encouragement of the Church through the knowledge of the Lord’s coming.” Rich with sporadic details referencing contemporary culture and biblical allusions, these six pieces will intrigue those who take careful examination of his series. When Morris submitted this piece for exhibition at the Jenkintown Festival of the Arts in 1973, he won first prize in graphics.    

The University’s Connie A. Eastburn Gallery is also displaying many of Morris’ preliminary sketches and early-stage prints. Viewers will see Morris’ meticulous process of layering colors onto the prints, which is known as inking. Morris used a 43-inch squeegee while inking the four-foot by three-foot silk screens. 

Revelation Series will be on display through March 4. To learn more about Laurence and his work, visit cairn.edu/gallery.