Realism exhibt at Misericordia’s Pauly Friedman Art Gallery

Alicia Grega-Pikul

Emma Hirst’s “Peace” is one of the many works on display Saturday through Dec. 19 at College Misericordia’s Pauly Friedman Art Gallery in Capturing Realism 2009: The Waichulis Studio. The California-based artist is one of the newest students to join the prestigious training institute specializing in the highly realistic art of Trompe L’oeil and similarly realistic still life, landscape, portrait and figure renderings in graphite, charcoal and oil.

A meet-the-artists reception will be held Saturday from 5-8 p.m. and includes a gallery talk by artist Timothy Jahn on “The New Realism Movement” and remarks by Sharon Lloyd Hourigan, president of the Cultural Council of Luzerne County, at 6 p.m.

A native of Mocanaqua, studio founder Anthony Waichulis attended Luzerne County Community College before completing his formal education at Schuler School of Fine Arts in Maryland. His award-winning work is seen regularly in national fine art periodicals and in 2006, he became the first Trompe L’oeil painter to be granted “living master” status by the Art Renewal Center. His featured students include Leah Waichulis, Adam Vinson, Joel Carson Jones, Helen Crispino, Jay Davenport, Justin Balliet, Steve Mihal, Terese Rogers, Michael E. Hockenbury, Omar Rodriguez, Kate Sammons, Timothy Jahn, Brian O’Neill, Star Galler, Jeremy Lebediker, Sharon Lloyd Hourigan, Edward Dillon and Victoria Posatko.

Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 1-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. For more information visit the studio’s Web site at www.thewaichulisstudio.net or call the gallery at 674-6250.