Â??traces’ Exhibition by Eastern European Artists Opens at Colorado State University’s Curfman Gallery Nov. 3

Marius Lehene and Stefan Chinov, both internationally exhibited Eastern European artists and professors, will show their "Traces" exhibition at Colorado State University’s Curfman Gallery. The exhibit’s opening reception will be from 4-6 p.m. Nov. 3 in the Student Art Lounge of the Lory Student Center. Immediately following the opening reception, the artists will host a gallery talk in the Curfman Gallery to discuss their work.

"In the work of artists Stefan Chinov and Marius Lehene, vision is a product of touch," said Matthew Cooperman, professor of English at Colorado State. "Touch is in the materials, always a way of looking with your hands – mind’s eye, fancy’s finger, a curlicue of desire in the playful arrangement of forms."

Romanian-born Lehene is an assistant professor of drawing and works with graduate students in the Department of Art at Colorado State University. His creative work has been shown in Romania, Hungary and the United States, and is part of public and private collections both in the United States and Europe. He graduated with his bachelor’s degree from Babes-Bolyai University in Romania and received his master’s in Fine Arts from Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

Bulgarian-born Chinov currently teaches sculpture, digital imaging and art history at East Central University in Ada, Okla. He graduated with his master’s in Fine Arts in 2000 from Southern Methodist University and his master’s and bachelors in Fine Arts from National Academy of the Arts in Sofia, Bulgaria.

In his work, Lehene deals indirectly with issues of identity and the "space in-between cultures" while incorporating tactile elements. This concept of touch merges with the work of Chinov, whose installations urge the viewer to interact with while contemplating the absence of the figure and their connection to the environment.

"Traces" will be on exhibit in the Curfman Gallery through Dec. 15. The Curfman Gallery is located on the south end of the main level of the Lory Student Center on the Colorado State campus. Gallery hours are Monday through Thursday 9 a.m.-9 p.m.; Friday from 9 a.m.-9:30 p.m.; and Saturday from noon-4 p.m. The Gallery is closed on Sundays.

For more information or to request stock photography of a piece from the exhibit, contact Stan Scott, director of the Curfman Gallery, or Zack Rowland, assistant director, at (970) 491-2810 or e-mail lscarts2@lamar.colostate.edu. Information about the exhibit and the gallery, including a parking map, can be found at www.curfman.colostate.edu.

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