The public is invited to the annual Faculty Art Exhibition at ×ö°®ÊÓƵ, including the public reception, set for 4 to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 28, at the Cyrus M. Running Gallery on campus. Artist remarks begin at 4:30 p.m.

The exhibition, which begins Tuesday, Jan. 28, and ends Monday, Feb. 24, will feature the recent work of Concordia art department faculty, including Ross Hilgers, Jessica Matson-Fluto, Chris Mortenson, Dr. Danielle Gravon, Dwight Mickelson, and Heidi Goldberg, professor emerita.

Faculty members work in a variety of media including clay, oil, painting, photography, printmaking, and sculpture.

“I think people should go because art can show people things they’ve not considered before,” said Mortenson, who also serves as gallery director. “It allows us to look at works pointing towards beauty, pain, wonder, critique, a desire to understand, and any number of other things that can challenge what we know or what we thought we knew, or it can simply give us a different perspective on something.”

Mortenson, associate professor of art at Concordia, will exhibit work from his newest series, with large color images made by a 4x5 camera, as well as smaller palladium prints made from 8x10 negatives.

The palladium process originated in the 1870s and involves mixing an emulsion from chemicals and spreading it by hand over a high-quality cotton rag paper.

Hilgers, professor of art, will show abstract ceramic sculptures, as his most recent show, “Transcendental Orbit: The Uncharted Travels of a Heart Shaped Object,” ended Jan. 19 at The Rourke Art Gallery + Museum in Moorhead.

“It's fun, but it's not just purely entertainment. Effective art can engage the viewer while also presenting challenging ideas. Think of it like a good movie or concert,” Hilgers said of art shows. “Visual art offers the same opportunity. If you allow the experience to permeate your body, it leaves a residue that can nurture you after the experience is over. Some people need that nurturing so much that they surround themselves with art to enrich their lives.”

The Cyrus M. Running Gallery begins in the skyway that connects the Olin Art and Communications Center with the second floor of the Frances Frazier Comstock Theatre building. It is open from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 1 to 4 p.m. on Sundays.

“My colleagues in this department are excellent at their craft,” Mortenson said. “Each of them makes incredibly beautiful and thoughtful work. It takes time and dedication to get to that level, and I hope that students get inspired to hone their own technique and vision and to use their work to raise their voice, because they are just as important to hear as ours.”