Rita Deanin Abbey was an artist and UNLV professor. | Rita Deanin Abbey Museum/Facebook
Rita Deanin Abbey was an artist and UNLV professor. | Rita Deanin Abbey Museum/Facebook
Works by a University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) professor and artist will be shown in an exhibit at Artemus W. Ham Concert Hall.
Twelve of Rita Deanin Abbey's pieces from multiple series will be displayed, according to a news release from the university. This includes the Early Figure Series, oil on canvas, 1979–1981; the Montenegro Series, monoprints on Hahnemühle German etching paper, 1990; and Drawings from the Model, Conte, graphite and ink wash on paper, 1974–1983.
"Rita was loved by so many and her contributions to Las Vegas includes [sic] all who she impacted at UNLV but also extends far beyond this college campus," Lori Cobo, executive director of the UNLV Performing Arts Center (PAC), said in the news release. "Her impact as an artist, as a teacher, as a mentor, as a friend, and as a mother lives on through her art at her own museum. Now, we're thrilled to showcase even just a small sampling of her art to patrons of the PAC. Some will be reminded of her brilliance, and I'm certain this exhibit will introduce Rita to many – creating new fans of her stunning work."
Abbey's career as a professor in the art department at UNLV lasted for 22 years, the news release noted. She died last year. Abbey worked in various mediums such as painting, printmaking, sculpture, stained glass, and computer art. She focused on figures and landscapes, non-objective subject matter, and abstract expressionism.
"Abbey used various aspects of nature to augment, on a subconscious level, her creative process," Katherine Hough, curator at the Rita Deanin Abbey Art Museum in Las Vegas, said in the news release. "Developing her theory of perception, she experienced the line, pattern, color, space, light, form, and texture of geological formations. Such changing atmospheric conditions as rain, storms, wind, light, and clouds affected her visual development and became integral to her work.
"Her observations and experiences enabled her to recreate the spirit and essence of the desert in abstract compositions. Her impressions of the environment, whether microcosmic or macrocosmic, are reflected in her work by her concern for detail, contrast, and unity."
The exhibit, located in the lobby of Artemus W. Ham Concert Hall, is free and open to the public.
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