Oct. 19, 1998
Contact: Charlotte Crystal
(804) 924-6858

BAYLY ART MUSEUM TO FEATURE THREE VIRGINIA ARTISTS
IN CONJUNCTION WITH NOBEL PEACE LAUREATES CONFERENCE

	A Bayly Art Museum exhibit of sculptures by Susan Bacik and
Robert Strini will complement the University of Virginia's Nobel Peace
Laureates Conference in November by illustrating the tension between
inhumanity and harmony in society.
	Bacik describes her "Oracle and Scale Series," created from
found objects, as reflecting "the incomprehensibility of what man does
to other men, either marvelous or horrifying." The "Scale" pieces will
be accompanied in some cases by poems written by Stephen Cushman, a
University of Virginia English professor who developed the image-word
dialogue with Bacik.
	In a similar vein, Strini's new work incorporates diverse
materials, including motorized hearts, rusted metal, fiberglass, wood,
dyed textiles and taped reports from wartime survivors, to vividly
portray man's inhumanity to man. Strini attributes his artistic
motivation in pieces, such as "In Touch with Your Heart," and "Genocide:
The Sight and Sound of Death," to his frustration and anger with such
inhumanity.
	Made possible in part by a grant from the Virginia Commission on
the Arts, the display of Bacik's sculptures in the Bayly's Entrance
Gallery runs from Oct. 29 through Dec. 23, while Strini's sculptures,
displayed in the Bayly's Main and Octagonal galleries, will be on
exhibit from Nov. 27 through Jan. 17. Bacik and Cushman will give a
gallery talk on Sunday, Dec. 6 at 
4 p.m. at the Bayly Art Museum. Strini will present a gallery talk on
Sunday, Jan. 17, 1999.
	Also on display from Nov. 5 through Dec. 23 will be
Charlottesville artist Leah Gropen's "The 300th Anniversary of
Jerusalem, City of David," a brightly colored, cloth tapestry, 7 feet
high by 14 feet long. Interweaving major events in Judaism, Christianity
and Islam, the artwork marks the passage of time in Jerusalem, a city
considered holy by all three religions. Many churches and synagogues
have displayed the tapestry since its completion in 1996, Jerusalem's
300th anniversary year. Gropen will present a gallery talk on her work
on Sunday, Nov. 15, at 
2 p.m. in the Bayly Art Museum.
2

	The University of Virginia will host the Nobel Peace Laureates
Conference on Human Rights, Conflict and Reconciliation Nov. 5-6, 1998.
See the website at www.virginia.edu/nobel for details.
	For more information on the art exhibits, call Jill Hartz at the
Bayly Art Museum at (804) 243-8854. Television reporters should contact
the TV News Office at (804) 924-7550.