The paintings by Charles Munch can be thought of as nature icons, that is, images conducive to meditation on questions that may have no answer but are worth exploring.  The mysterious stillness inherent in painted images encourages meditation on the twin riddles: What happened before? & What will happen afterwards? Munch believes that the more deeply we explore our relationship with other animals and the rest of the natural world, the healthier the world will be.  The use of bright, clear colors and simplified shapes, convey a distinct image by the plainest means possible.  Eliminating extraneous details, allowing room for the expression of emotion through the abstract elements of color, line, and shape.  He depicts his subject with barely enough description to make it recognizable, and then brings it to pulsing life through vibrant color relationships and dynamic compositions.  Creating images that are even truer to his vision of nature and the emotions about it than a realistic painting could be.

Thursday October 2 through Friday November 21, 2014 in the Besse Gallery, Bay College, Escanaba, MI.

Gallery Hours: 8am to 5pm Monday through Friday