“BEYOND THE VISIBLE: THE ART OF SAIRA ELIZABETH AUSTIN” from March 29 – May 1, 2011; Exhibit is Free and Open to the Public
March 14, 2011
Newton, MA -- Mount Ida College is pleased to announce a new art exhibit, “Beyond the Visible: The Art of Saira Elizabeth Austin”, on display in The Mount Ida College Gallery, Carlson Hall, Mount Ida College, 777 Dedham Street, Newton from March 29 through May 1, 2011. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Sunday from 1PM to 5PM; closed the weekend of April 14-17, 2011. A reception at The Mount Ida College Gallery with artist Saira Elizabeth Austin is scheduled for Thursday, April 7, 2011 from 5pm to 8pm. The exhibit is free and open to the general public.
Saira Elizabeth Austin has produced a body of abstract work inspired by man-made landscapes, sacred and secular, many of them ancient. Some of the work explores the layering of these ancient cultures - Neolithic, Celtic, shamanic and Christian, in countries along the western edge of Europe, in France, Ireland, the Orkney islands, Cornwall and the Outer Hebrides. Another part of this work is made closer to her home in Gloucester, Massachusetts where, in her own gardens, she explores the activity above and below the earth, imagining the vision of insects that are able to see beyond the range of human vision. Working on paper with ink, watercolor and gouache, Austin’s abstract meanderings seek to mark the traces of ancient cultures, of places remembered, and of extended vision.
Saira Elizabeth Austin received a MFA from Bard College and an ALB from Harvard University. An artist for nearly 40 years and a professor at the former Chamberlayne College and at Mount Ida College for 31 years, Austin maintains a steady studio practice and exhibition schedule. Austin teaches color theory and two- and three-dimensional design in Art Foundation at Mount Ida’s School of Design.