Current and retired faculty members of the art department are displaying their work in the Hershberger Art Gallery until October 29. The exhibition includes art from current Goshen College faculty Merrill Krabill, Randy Horst and John Mishler, along with art from retired faculty Marvin Bartel, John Blosser, Abner Hershberger and Judy Wenig-Horswell. 

The exhibition is free and open to the public from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends. It is located in the Hershberger Art Gallery in the Music Center, which is named for former GC art professor Abner Hershberger.

One of the exhibition’s featured artists is current professor Merrill Krabill, who has taught ceramics and photography at GC since 2001. 

His work explores the ideas of loss and redemption, which Krabill describes as “the little things you lose in life and the ways that there’s still hope and goodness in it.”

Krabill’s Earth and Sky series is part of the exhibition, and consists of a mixture of photographs and pottery displayed together. 

“I went into the studio thinking I wanted to try to do something different. So the images came out of photos from the summer and the clay vase-like forms were thrown on the potter’s wheel and done in a way that was really quick and spontaneous,” explained Krabill. 

The series emphasizes emptiness through open skies and empty vessels, connecting back to themes of loss and redemption. 

Krabill is still working to fully understand the Earth and Sky series, as he typically interprets his art after it is complete. 

“When I’m in the studio, I’m just making things I like, then later I look at the work to see what makes sense to me,” he explained. 

Another current professor whose art is displayed in the exhibition is Randy Horst, who teaches drawing, painting, art history and graphic design at GC. 

According to his artist statement, Horst is “most interested in psychological portraits that examine the human condition,” often in relation to biblical and Christian characters.

The exhibit contains Horst’s Gorgon Spectrum series which explores Greek mythology using colorful digital combinations of Horst’s photographs of flowers and Parthenon Frieze sculptures. 

“The series explores our ability to transform things into other things just with our imagination—a key component in creating myths,” said Horst in his artist statement. 

The faculty exhibit is unique due to the way it intersperses art from several faculty members with very different styles and mediums. 

According to Krabill, “it’s interesting to see how a group of artists who have been heavily connected to the college art department over the years have similarities and differences.”

As part of Homecoming Weekend, there will be a reception and artist talk in the exhibit on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.