Vahlberg Exhibits Work in BU Art Gallery

Art is that special thing that makes you breathe with a different kind of happiness. Most of the time artists see what others can’t. One such artist is Laura Vahlberg, whose works are currently on display in Bluefield University’s Art Gallery on the first floor of Lansdell Hall.

Vahlberg’s exhibit, a collection of oil paintings titled “Meditations on Stability,” has an interesting style of creation and an even more intriguing creation process.

“I paint pictures that represent the everyday and mundane within the context of formal abstraction,” Vahlberg said. “The first aspect I observe in a subject is the air quality. Artist Lennart Anderson once called a painting ‘a box of light and air.’ What color is the air? How does it tie together everything it touches? How is it unique? These questions inform my color mixing so that the picture becomes a portrait of the distance between the viewer and the motif.”

Vahlberg travels all over the world learning, practicing and entering her art into showcases. Her most recognized accomplishment is the Award of Distinction in Oil, an honor she received in 2019 for her work in the New River Art Biennial Exhibition in Blacksburg, VA.

Vahlberg’s oil paintings, “Meditations on Stability,” are on display in the BU Art Gallery now for all students and faculty to view. The next art show will be a BU student art show, which begins November 22. Any student taking art and graphic communication classes can show their work in the student art show. Faculty select the best works, taking into consideration representation by many, and those pieces are displayed. BU art exhibits have been around for a long time and are a great opportunity for artists to show off their talents.

“We have been having art shows in the BU Art Gallery for over 25 years,” said Walter Shroyer, professor and chair of the Art Department. “We invite and encourage regional artists to exhibit their work every year. We also try to fit two student shows in a year.”