Kelly Sturhahn, Cathedral Gardens, 2008, ink and wash on paper, 30 x 22 inches

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LAKELAND, Fla. (Jan. 21, 2011) – Florida Southern College will display the work of Kelly Sturhahn, one of its newest faculty members, from Jan. 21-Feb. 11 at The Melvin Art Gallery on the College’s campus.

Sturhahn did her undergraduate work at Ringling School of Art and Design, where she earned a bachelor of fine arts, and earned a master of fine arts at Hunter College in New York.

She went on to work as a high school teacher and an adjunct at Hunter College. She was most recently an associate at Michael Werner Gallery in New York.

Sturhahn is now teaching drawing and a course on contemporary art at Florida Southern.

When not teaching, however, she is pursuing her own artistic career, and the Florida Southern exhibit will showcase a selection of her work from the past several years.

Working with textiles, digital photography, drawings and paintings, her work takes on both two and three dimensions. Sturhahn uses her artwork to explore interests in nature and the sublime, photography and light, theater and illusion, pattern and decoration. She strives to create interactive experiences for her viewers.

Among the pieces viewers of her Florida Southern exhibit will experience is “Mirror Lake,” which involves ribbons, a mirror and ink drawings, and is based on Mirror Lake in Lake Placid, N.Y. Sturhahn says the piece plays with the perception of those who stop to take a look.

Sturhahn’s work has been featured in numerous exhibitions, including solo and group shows in New York and the surrounding area.

The Sturhahn exhibit will kick off with an opening reception at 7 p.m. on Jan. 21, which is open to the public. The exhibit may be viewed during gallery hours, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.