Omega Gallery Presents exhibit of recent paintings by Robin Venable

Carson-Newman College’s Omega Gallery will open the academic year with an exhibition of recent work by Robin Venable. The 2005 alumna’s showing will run from Wednesday, August 24 until Saturday, October 22.

Venable says her work grows out of a need to express her own spiritual journey. Using an iconographic style that ranges from turmoil to the ecstatic, she seeks to provide historic connections.

The Omega exhibit, “Breaking Chronos,” explores the dichotomy between kairos (the supreme moment), and chronos (chronological time). The work is a collection of mandalas, round paintings that have long been symbols of contemplation and spirituality.

“The work is also very personal in that most of the figures are self-portraits,” noted Venable, who added that placing her own likeness in the work “creates a spiritual experience for me while I am making the actual paintings.”

A Nashville native who invested a year between C-N and graduate school to focus on a new body of work, Venable earned the MFA from Florida State University in 2009. She has participated in exhibitions across the country, including shows in Florida, Georgia, New York and Tennessee. She returned home to Nashville, where she maintains a vibrant studio practice and works at The Arts Company, a commercial art gallery.

A closing reception will be held in conjunction with Homecoming at 9:30 a.m. on October 22. Omega Gallery is located in the Warren Art Building, on the corner of Branner Avenue and South College Street. Admission is free and the gallery is open on weekdays from open from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. For more information contact the art department at 471-4985.