PHCC Welcomes New Art Exhibition

Visit the Patrick Henry Community College Art Gallery in Walker building for a new exhibition of paintings titled “Nature Nurture” by Nancy Stroud.

“The paintings on display are abstract landscapes celebrating the beauty of nature, while also addressing the sometimes jarring appearance of man-made structures in the natural environment,” said Gerry Bannan, professor of art at PHCC.

In her artist statement, Stroud said her recent work is inspired by the natural world and the “magic” she feels during a sunrise or walking on the islands of Maine.

“It is only through painting that I can recapture this feeling of wonder and enchantment, and of exploration and discovery,” she said. “Starting with the formal boundaries of material, color and application, the pieces begin as investigations of medium and material. In building these environments, associations begin to evolve.”

Stroud lives and works in Philadelphia, Pa. where she met her husband Matt Turner. They own an eighteenth century home that they’ve renovated in the Fish Town neighborhood. Stroud grew up in the northern outskirts of Philadelphia and holds a bachelor of fine arts from Temple University’s Tyler School of Art, and was a fellow of interdisciplinary art for the Pennsylvania Council of the Arts.

Much of Stroud’s career has been spent in the movie and television industry where she’s worked as a scenic artist on many feature films including “Silver Linings Playbook,” “The Lovely Bones,” “The Sixth Sense” and many others.

A few of her solo exhibitions include “Brackish” in 2002 at the Vox Populi Gallery in Philadelphia, “The Philadelphia Project” for WHYY TV12 in Philadelphia and “Looking Back” in 1998 at the Educational Testing Center in Princeton, N.J.  

The exhibit at PHCC will run through March 5 with a reception and gallery talk featuring Stroud at 1 p.m. that day. For additional information, visit www.patrickhenry.edu.