"Perfectus - Imperfectus (1980-2000)," an exhibit which explores the paintings of contemporary artist Michael Dillon, will be on view in Fairfield University's Thomas J. Walsh Art Gallery in the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts from Sept. 20 to Dec. 9. The artist will deliver an informal lecture at 5:30 p.m., on Thursday, Sept. 20, followed by a reception from 6 to 8 p.m. The exhibit traces Dillon's artistic development from the mysterious realm of the abstract to the realization of the figure.

Dillon has long been attracted to the device of a frame within a frame as a way of putting distance between his initial inspiration and the play of muted shapes and forms which must carry the burden of meaning. The viewer looks through a darkened window trying to make out the hazy silhouettes on the other side. These atmospherics have some affinity with Turner's dramatic landscapes, but it is more likely that, in Dillon's work, one is always on the outside looking in.

The artist's preference for soft, unadulterated color emphasizes the inward-looking nature of his paintings. He shows us a stage curtained by the mists of memory, on which half-glimpsed, half-sensed figures strut and fret. In his paintings one finds abstract equivalents of everyday emotions, maps of the mind and microcosms that invite our empathy and understanding.

The show is on display in the Walsh Gallery at Fairfield University, Tuesdays through Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 4 p.m. Admission is free. For more information call (203) 254-4000, ext. 2969.

Posted On: 08-01-2001 09:08 AM

Volume: 34 Number: 33