Feb 14, 2011

Iraq war exhibit

Artist Megan Rye of Minneapolis is featured in the Central Lakes College Gallery on the Brainerd campus with an exhibit titled “Iraq: The Forgotten War” Feb. 23-March 24. She is best known for large scale oil paintings of the ongoing conflict in Iraq. “Although we have had all great shows, this one might be a step up,” said Mic Stowell, art instructor at CLC and CLC Gallery curator. “Megan Rye has been getting a lot of attention in Minnesota and nationally. Her work is timely.” Rye’s paintings of scenes from Iraq “are the most effective in conveying something of the tensions and bewilderment that U.S. soldiers must experience on patrol there,” said reviewer Mary Abbe in the Star Tribune. Most are based on snapshots taken by her brother Ryan, a Marine who served in Fallujah and the Sunni Triangle for seven months. “Beautifully designed and artfully executed, the scenes have a compelling grace that belies the gritty reality of their war-zone origins,” Abbe said. The gallery is open to the public at no charge during regular campus hours. It is located across from the Jon Hassler Library.