DANBURY, CONN. — From paintings and oil stick drawings depicting the interplay of women in interiors to realist landscape paintings and modern sculpture, a world of contemporary art will be at Western Connecticut State University during the spring semester in a series of slide lectures sponsored by the university’s Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) program.

The M.F.A. series will feature presentations by seven visiting artists over a four-month period from Jan. 27 through April 28. All but the last lecture will be at 11 a.m. in Viewing Room 1 of White Hall on the university’s Midtown campus, 181 White St. in Danbury. The last lecture will be at 3 p.m. at The Weir Farm Art Center, 735 Nod Hill Road in Wilton. The talks will be free and the public is invited.

The opening lecture was offered by Barbara Grossman, a former faculty member at WestConn. Her works are characterized as having intense color, multiple patterns and dynamic spaces, which are both deep and shallow. Examples of her master pieces have been shown at the Chautauqua School of Art, New York Studio School, The Dishman Museum in Texas and other galleries, museums and colleges all over the Northeast, South and Midwest.

Upcoming lectures in the M.F.A. spring semester series will include:

Tuesday, Feb. 10: Tom Kidd. After attending Syracuse University on a scholarship, Kidd has worked for a number of publishers including Marvel Comics, Doubleday and Warner Books. He has illustrated two books, “The Three Musketeers” and “War of the Worlds,” and has published two books of his art. Kidd’s fantasy illustrations have earned him many awards, including a World Fantasy Award in 2004 and seven Chesley awards. His design work can be seen in a variety of films, studios and museums, as well as for clients including Walt Disney and Universal Studios.

Tuesday, Feb. 24: Riley Brewster. Brewster, who has an M.F.A. from Yale University, is an adjunct professor of drawing at WestConn. His work has been shown at the National Academy of Design, Wadsworth Atheneum and the Portland Art Museum. He has taught at the New York Studio School, the Rhode Island School of Design and The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He is well-known for his abstract landscape drawings.

Tuesday, March 10: John Cuneo. Cuneo’s drawings have appeared in magazines and newspapers including Esquire, The Atlantic, New Yorker, the New York Times and GQ. He has received gold and silver medals from the Society of Illustrators and his work has been featured in American Illustration and Communication Arts annuals. Cuneo has worked on Italian calendars, a line of racy greeting cards and characters for Blue Sky Animation.

Tuesday, March 31: Don Kimes. An artist and educator, Kimes will discuss his work, which varies from realistic landscape painting to large iconic metal pieces. He has served as the director of the New York Studio School and chairman of the art department at American University. Kimes’ work is on display in The National Academy of Science, New York Studio School and The National Academy of Design.

Tuesday, April 14: Michael Garland. Garland has worked as an illustrator for a variety of entertainment, advertising, and book companies including CBS Records, Playboy, ABC, Forbes, Fortune, Newsweek and book publishers Random House, Dell Books, Ballantine Books, Bantam, Scholastic Inc., Harper-Collins and Simon & Schuster. He has authored and illustrated 21 children’s books and illustrated books for other authors, including works by Gloria Estefan and James Patterson.

Tuesday, April 28: Ruth Miller. An advisory board member of WestConn’s M.F.A. program, Miller is highly respected among her peers. Her sensitive and penetrating drawings and classical still-life paintings are shown regularly at the National Academy of Design, the New York Studio School and Bowery Gallery. In 1996, she was elected to the National Academy of Design, where she has received numerous awards and grants, including the Emil and Dines Carlsen Still Life Award, the Benjamin Altman Landscape Prize and the Henry Ward Ranger Purchase Award.

For more information, call (203) 837-8881.

 

Western Connecticut State University offers outstanding faculty in a range of quality academic programs. Our diverse university community provides students an enriching and supportive environment that takes advantage of the unique cultural offerings of Western Connecticut and New York. Our vision: To be an affordable public university with the characteristics of New England’s best small private universities.