An art exhibit, “Gesture and Abstraction” featuring the drawings and paintings of Caroline M. Mecklin, will be on display in Ashford University’s Cortona Art Gallery from November 20 until December 15.

            Mecklin, who received her B.A. from Macalester College in St. Paul, MN and an M.F.A. from the University of Nebraska- Lincoln, has won many awards for her artwork, including the Indianapolis Museum of Contemporary Art Environmental WOW Projection Project Award in 2005 and was ARTS INDIANA Magazine’s cover artist in June 1996. She has recently received an individual artist grant from the Indiana Arts Commission and the drawings and paintings being displayed at Ashford represent the direction of that grant.

Many people, including Edgar Degas, Alice Neel, Mary Cassatt, have influenced Mecklin’s artwork, she said, adding that her work “is about color and passion and the juxtapositions of color, shape and space. My work reflects both craft and tradition. My work falls within the long tradition of contemporary figurative painting. My work is an emotional response to my relationships with people. It is never neutral. Each piece is for me an act of courage.”

Currently, Mecklin teaches art at Holy Cross Central School and adult figure painting and drawing in her professional studio in downtown Indianapolis.

An opening reception and artist presentation has been set for Monday, Nov. 20 from 4 until 6 p.m. in the Gallery.

The Cortona Gallery, located on the second floor of the University’s Clare Hall, 400 N. Bluff Blvd., is named for Sister Cortona Phelan, OSF, former president of Mount St. Clare College and former president of the Sisters of St. Francis.  She influenced the quality of education at the College through her teaching of American history and her love of the arts for many years.  She also served as MSC Academy Principal and as Dean of Students at the College.

The free art gallery is open 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. on weekdays and for private showings by appointment. For further information, interested persons can call 563.242.4023.

Founded in 1918 as Mount St. Clare College in Clinton, Iowa, Ashford University is a coeducational institution regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, with programs in education, business, accounting, criminal and social justice, computer animation and graphic design, and other areas.  The University offers undergraduate and graduate degrees, as well as a range of student activities and athletics, at its Clinton campus.  Online degree programs are available in education, organizational management, business administration, and psychology.  The University is known for its high quality yet highly affordable on-campus and online programs, with tuition fees among the lowest in the U.S. compared to other private institutions.  Its tagline is: “Higher Education Made Affordable”^SM.  For more information, please visit www.ashford.edu.