Seton Hill University proudly opened an exhibit showcasing the work of its students on January 22, 2009. The showcase runs until February 12, 2009 and is free and open to the public.

An exhibit is hosted every semester by the Harlan Art Gallery and every art class is invited to participate. An outside juror decides on what pieces are exhibited at the event. The showcase is a great opportunity for the upper-level students that are pursuing particular fields. "The exhibit shows the Seton Hill community what the art students are doing. Not only do the visitors enjoy seeing the art work, but the students are able to present their work in a professional setting which is gratifying for the art faculty," said Carol Brode, Harlan Gallery director and assistant professor of art.

Marie Manski, senior and studio arts major, feels it is very important to visit the gallery not only because she works there and enjoys supporting her colleagues, but she also feels it is an educationally enriching experience. "It stimulates parts of the brain that otherwise may become inactive in our daily schedule-based lives," said Manski.

Manski felt as if she stepped into an alternate universe upon entering Ali Naples' "Installation" piece which occupied an entire room in the gallery. "It was large, skillfully executed, and inquisitive subject matter. I liked to imagine that I was exploring a new planet. Because one must walk through her piece to experience it, it brings out an imaginative, curious, inner-child," said Manski.

Senior Rebekah Messenger was strongly moved by "Language of Line I" created by Jillian Kowalewski. The artist used black lines that varied in widths and were placed all over the canvas creating shapes of all kinds, instilled on a background that was full of color. "Typically when I think of a line, I, and probably most persons, image a straight black horizontal thread against a starch-white background. This painting was the antithesis of that," Messenger said.

Kowalewski explained her art work as a journey through lines. "You find the line and then you lose the line. My inspiration came from Henry Matisse's art work that represents forms of nature that are very abstract." Kowalewski is studying art therapy and art education.

"What is especially nice about visual art, as opposed to the three performing arts, is its tangibility," Messenger, a music therapy major, explained. "Unlike music, art stays after it is created, you can hold onto it for years, and look to it when you want to revisit the time and emotions it captures."

Manski believes, "art galleries give us a venue to examine ideas and inquire answers through a person's most intimate mode of self expression."

Harlan Gallery is a professional exhibition space open to the public free of charge, and is located in Reeves Hall on Seton Hill University's Greensburg, Pa., campus. Harlan Gallery is open Monday - Thursday from 5-8 p.m., Friday 1-3 p.m., and Sunday 1 -4 p.m. Harlan Gallery is also open prior to all Seton Hill Theatre performances in Reeves Theatre. For more information on Harlan Gallery, please contact Harlan Gallery director Carol Brode at 724-830-1071 or brode@setonhill.edu.