Interior of Grossman Gallery at WVAB.

Photo by Yinan Xiong ‘16

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Part two: A guide to the art galleries down the hill

By Anastasia Gayol Cintron ‘17 and Jess Lewy ‘17

Collaborative Writers

The focus of the guide to the Lafayette College art galleries last week stayed on the hill. This week, however, it ventures to the gateway of Downtown Easton, at the Grossman Gallery and Art on Third Street.

While some may consider these staples of the visual arts out of reach for the average student, there are always services running back and forth from the Williams Center of the Arts to the Williams Visual Arts Center. The trip downtown is certainly worth the airy escape that is the young Grossman Gallery

Located in the Williams Visual Arts Center, this building is not frequented by many non-art students. But, upon further exploration, one can find that Grossman is filled with artistic treasures that are connected to the entire college. The Grossman gallery displays the work of visiting artists, hosts faculty shows and exhibits a variety of work by students, namely senior theses.

“The downtown gallery has a much tighter focus [than other on-campus galleries],” Director of Art Galleries Michiko Okaya said. “I work very closely with studio faculty, they’re the ones who recommend what is exhibited there, because they need to be able to use it as a laboratory for their students.”

Although the website says the gallery is open Tuesday-Thursday from 1-4 p.m., Grossman Gallery Assistant and Receptionist Wendy Sterling said she is there from 8:45 a.m. to 5 p.m. and during that time the gallery is usually accessible.

At Sterling’s desk, just outside the large gallery space, there are pamphlets explaining featured exhibits so students will not be lost. Currently, an exhibit titled “Seven” by a previous visiting artist, Holly Trostle Brigham, depicts strong women in mythical allegories and historical situations. Her series of vibrant watercolors runs until February 28.

More art is also featured further down the street, next to the Williams Visual Arts Building is the Arts Plaza. In this spacious center, sculptures have been featured, including “Hounds of Hell,” by Karl Stirnir, namesake of the Karl Stirnir Arts trail. His work has been exhibited in a variety of museums, most notably the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

Across the street, hanging over the Bushkill Creek that separates Lafayette from the rest of downtown Easton, is Stacy Levi’s “Bushkill Curtain.” As an installation hanging from the underside of the new film and media studies building, it consists of blue painted buoys and seeks to register the changes in water levels, as well as shifts in the winds. It was initially meant as a temporary project, running from June 2011-August 2012 and was created for the arts in an Urban Environment Festival. It still hangs, however, and we are able to see such art on in Downtown Easton.