Chimera, the first 2008 exhibition at the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts brings together prints and paintings by Anne Ruehrmund with sculpture by Dan Perry. These brightly colored works converge in reference to memory, fantasy, and play.     

Anne Ruehrmund is interested in what draws us to ornamental objects that have no functional purpose. “The kitsch or decorative objects that people collect often reflect a desire to retreat into childhood or fantasy,” says the artist. “I create drawings, paintings and prints of decorative objects involved in surreal narratives that explore themes of sentimentality, vulnerability, and protection.”

 “The imagery in my work,” says Dan Perry, “is an amalgamation of candid recollections and fabricated realities that allows me to delve into humor, fear, absurdity and the uncanny. I use MDF (medium density fiberboard), plastics, and rubber in reference to playthings from my youth.” Dan’s work is influenced by film, cartoons, music, and science.

Anne Ruehrmund is in her third year of the MFA program at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, where she is studying printmaking with an interdisciplinary approach under the direction of Francisco Souto and Karen Kunc. Raised in Virginia, she attended the University of Richmond and has an upcoming show at Cornerstone Gallery in Richmond. Anne’s work has been  exhibited at the Karoona Gallery in New South Wales, Australia; the Chamalieres Print Triennial in France; and the Academy of Fine Art in Helsinki, Finland.

Born in Omaha, Dan Perry received a BA in fine art and mass communication from Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa, in 2001, and an MFA in sculpture from UNL in 2006. Currently, he is art studio technician and an instructor at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls. Dan has exhibited in several venues most notably, at the Des Moines and  Sioux City Art Centers in Iowa, the Dangenart Gallery in Nashville, Tennessee, the Spiva Gallery in Joplin, Missouri, and The Haydon Art Center in Lincoln, Nebraska.

The exhibition runs January 7 through February 28, with a reception for the artists on Saturday afternoon, February 2, from 1 to 3:00 p.m.