The Denison University Art Gallery presents "Between the Lines," an art exhibit that challenges, questions and raises consciousness through sculpture, text, installation and holograms. Featuring the work of three artists, the show open on Friday (Jan. 25) with a reception from 6 to 8 p.m. The gallery is open daily from 1 to 4 p.m. and there is no admission charge. This show will run through Feb. 22.

"Between the Lines" features the work of artists with three distinct art-making methodologies and three diverse mediums. Despite their dissimilarities, there is continuity among the artists: Deborah Chalfant, Paul Maurice and Stanley Wrzyszczynski are all asking their viewers to "read between the lines" of today's culture.

Chalfant works with holograms created by laser and photography. Through images of the body ? depicting hands and ears, for instance - she questions society's stereotypes of "certain conditions, such as being elderly, handicapped, poor, unlovely, female, obese or a child." Her holograms are a way to communicate that everyone has the ability to speak and listen and to be a valuable contributor to society. Chalfant hopes that her work will "stimulate discussion that will challenge received ideas" about how we treat others. A Columbus resident, she is a graduate teaching associate in Ohio State's department of art. She has exhibited at the Fort Hayes Shot Tower Gallery, and at the Silver Image Gallery and the Hopkins Hall Gallery on Ohio State's campus.

Maurice's art is drawn from "stories" of the brutal reality of life. He deals with the themes of complicity, cruelty and betrayal through examples of "institutionalized racism and sexual degradation, police brutality, world-wide totalitarian abuses and torture." He uses photomontage and installation techniques to confront these cruelties and the result is "agitated art," which Maurice considers "a good thing." A resident of Portland, Ore., Maurice has exhibited widely in the northwest as well as in Tennessee and Chicago. He has a bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois and a master of fine arts degree from the University of Tennessee.

The sculptural work of Wrzyszczynski questions the notion of perfection in society. His works speak of no particular time and place and are not positioned in the here and now. All of the sculptures are in some way broken, according to society's standards of perfection, but to Wrzyszczynski they could also be seen as treasures to those outside of the cultural box of perfection. A sculptor and ceramic technician in the Denison art department since 1996, he is aresident. Wrzyszczynski earned a bachelor of fine arts degree at Ohio State.

Visitors to the Denison Art Gallery will have their own opportunities to read "Between the Lines" and to decided what the art says to them and how they will choose to listen.

About Denison:

Denison University, founded in 1831, is an independent, residential liberal arts institution located in Granville, Ohio. A highly selective college enrolling 2,100 full-time undergraduate students from all 50 states and dozens of foreign countries, Denison is a place where innovative faculty and motivated students collaborate in rigorous scholarship, civic engagement and the cultivation of independent thinking.

For press inquiries:

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Barbara Stambaugh

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Director, Media Relations

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(740) 587-8575