Art Exhibition on Utopian Village

Two University of Pittsburgh at Bradford art professors will showcase more than 40 pieces of artwork based on a mythical Utopian village, beginning Friday, Oct. 16, at the campus.

“The Infinite Dimensions of Shangri-La: Paintings And Sculptures by Kong Ho and Dr. Martie Geiger Ho” will feature the work of Ho, director of the interdisciplinary arts and the art program and associate professor of art, and Geiger-Ho, visiting assistant professor of art, at the KOA Art Gallery in Blaisdell Hall through Friday, Nov. 20. The exhibition, which is free and open to the public, is part of the university’s Spectrum Series.

A gallery talk will take place at noon Oct. 16 in the Webb/Bradford Forest Rehearsal Hall and an opening reception will follow at 12:30 p.m. in the KOA Speer Electronics Lobby.

The exhibition, based on the world of Shangri-La, a spiritual, mythical village in Tibet, will focus on a peaceful state of mind and being.

The exhibition will include two-dimensional acrylic and watercolor paintings and three-dimensional sculptures made from ceramics, glass and mixed media – all based on Asian philosophy and Western art.

Ho is a Hong Kong native who has studied both in Hong Kong and the United States. Geiger-Ho was born, raised and studied in the U.S., but has taught in Hong Kong.

The most unique aspects of the exhibition, Ho said, are the differences and similarities in the artwork. The husband and wife last had their work appear together in the exhibition titled “Parallel Convergence” at the Linder Gallery at Keystone College a year ago. Eight years have passed since Ho’s paintings have been displayed in the KOA Gallery.

“While Hong Kong is far cry from the fabled city of Shangri-La, it is a remarkable place to experience the cultural splendors of both ancient and contemporary Asia,” Geiger-Ho said. “Hong Kong is a fabulous and inspiring place to live and work. I hope that my new work reflects some of the diversity and great synergy of Western and Eastern philosophy and cultural world views that drive and constantly reshape this special Chinese territorial enclave.”

Both artists have been awarded the project stream grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts through its regional arts funding partnership, Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts, in sponsoring the cost of art materials and framing for this exhibition.

The art gallery is open from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8:30 to 6 p.m. Friday. The gallery is closed on Saturdays and Sundays.

Pictured, Golden Nautilus Roams with Smiling Buddha” by Kong Ho, a 30 by 30 acrylic painting, and “Love Bowl from Hong Kong,” by Dr. Martie Geiger-Ho, a porcelain, glass and glaze bowl 3 ½ inches high and eight inches wide.

e-mailed from Kimberly Marcott Weinberg, Pitt-Bradford