The Hite Art Institute, University of Louisville, College of Arts and Sciences is proud to present four new bodies of work by nationally recognized artist Mark Priest at Schneider Hall Galleries on Belknap Campus and the Hite Art Institute Cressman Gallery downtown. Priest is Professor of Painting at The Hite Art Institute, with an MFA in Painting from Yale University.

For this exhibition, Underground Railroad 2015, Priest has developed a series of paintings and drawings that shed light on the psyche and physical conditions endured by enslaved individuals in the United States prior to the Civil War, conditions which continue to influence the structure and discourse around American social, political and economic life.  Through a close study of archival and historical texts and extensive field research at sites along the route of the Underground Railroad, Priest contemplates and illuminates this powerful imagery and the metaphor that emerged from the thoughtful and brave acts of historically prominent freedom seekers in significant places: Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Charles Nalle and the now landmarked site, Joseph Stewart’s Canal.

The works comprising the Frederick Douglass Drawing Series, Nalle Series, Tubman Series and Stewart’s Canal are the result of Priest’s experiments with media, testing his definitions of painting and drawing. The formal artistic experiment that defines this expansive exhibition is further explored through the artist’s inclusion of audio and the presentation of research materials and ephemera. These choices support Priest’s dedication to communicating the rationale for his selection of these stories and images from the multitude of untold stories of freedom seekers, which have played a major role in American history.

Symposium:  Thursday, Feburary 5 • 1:00 - 5:00 pm
Opening Reception following Symposium, 5:00 - 7:00 pm