UMass Lowell Welcomes Artists for Free Public Event, Art Show this Week

02/03/2014

Contacts for media:  Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944 or Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu and Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu

LOWELL, Mass. – A free art exhibit and class at UMass Lowell that explores Mexican and American culture will introduce students and the public to the work of acclaimed Boston artists Elaine Bay and Raul Gonzalez III. 

Partners in their life and often their work, the couple will present “Riding toward Ninguna Parte.” “Ninguna Parte” means “nowhere” in Spanish. Described as comic, dark and graphic and laden with references to current affairs, the artists’ works draw inspiration from diverse sources including Mad magazine, Japanese prints, early American folk art, and Mexican-American border culture. 

Gonzalez will lead a class on drawing for UMass Lowell students that also will be free and open to public. The session will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 5 in Dugan Hall, Room B21, South Campus, 883 Broadway St., Lowell. 

“We are thrilled Elaine Bay and Raul Gonzalez are bringing their brand of art, humor and activism to the UMass Lowell community,” said Ellen Wetmore, an assistant art professor at the university.

The exhibit will run through Friday, Feb. 14 at University Gallery, located on the first floor of McGauvran Student Center on UMass Lowell’s South Campus, 71 Wilder St. Lowell. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The show follows Bay and Gonzalez’s recent exhibit at Carroll and Sons Gallery in Boston and a feature article in the art magazine Juxtapoz. This fall, Gonzalez will publish his first book, “Lowriders in Space.”  

Bay holds a master of fine arts degree from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts while Gonzalez is entirely self-taught. The show and class are presented by the UMass Lowell Art Department, along with the Office of Multicultural Affairs. Members of the public who are interested in learning more about these events and the artists may contact Wetmore at ellenwetmore@yahoo.com.

UMass Lowell is a national research university located on a high-energy campus in the heart of a global community. The university offers its 17,000 students bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in business, education, engineering, fine arts, health, humanities, sciences and social sciences. UMass Lowell delivers high-quality educational programs, vigorous hands-on learning and personal attention from leading faculty and staff, all of which prepare graduates to be ready for work, for life and for all the world offers. www.uml.edu