Feb. 2, 2005 -- The Bradbury Gallery in the Fowler Center on the campus of Arkansas State University is pleased to announce the opening of the spring exhibition “40 Years:  The Art of Murry N. DePillars.”  Featured are 52 works of art by the renowned artist, Dr. Murry N. DePillars.

Growing up in the South and West Sides of Chicago, Murry DePillars was born to a family that both recognized and encouraged his artistic interests. Jazz and blues clubs, gospel and ethnic music were to form another important aspect for his upbringing. Influenced by musical performances throughout his neighborhood, his childhood experiences provided the foundation for the direction his life would take both as an artist and as an educator.

“40 years: The Art of Murry N. DePillars” at the Bradbury Gallery (March 3 through April 10) has been a lifetime in the making. The exhibit reflects DePillars’ early Chicago years while depicting his evolution as an artist. The exhibit is also an artistic testimonial of life-long responses to his environment, culture, education and heritage. (DePillars will present the Visiting Artist/Scholar Lecture on Wednesday, March 2).

His 1968 "Aunt Jemima," with menacing spatula in hand, bursts out of one of the pancake boxes that literally is filled with emotional symbolism from the era. In fact, the background for the boxes is the American flag with Chicago police badges as stars. Noted art historian Richard Powell once wrote “…jazz and ‘soul’ music became the soundtrack for works by painter Murry DePillars.”  As you look at the exhibition, you clearly will see the effect of music upon his work, and how his early experiences with music merge with his visual art. The most recent Quilt Series reflects a different sensibility. "Talking Quilt–Jubilation" is a vibrant, energetic composition with references to jazz and DePillars’ personal African-American heritage. "Talking Quilt–Jubilation" radiates a joyful sense of color and pattern with ancestral symbolism.

When the Chicago-based AFRI-Cobra (African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists) invited DePillars to become a member, the group was led by the late Jeff Donaldson and included other influential black artists such as James Phillips, Frank Smith, Nelson Stevens, Michael Harris, Ron Akili Anderson, Napoleon Jones-Henderson, Adger Cowens and Wadsworth Jarrell.  AFRI-Cobra is an artistic forum where members challenge each other’s artistic ideas, confronting societal and cultural issues in the USA and abroad.

In 1976, Dr. Murry DePillars was named Dean of the School of the Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University, serving until he retired in 1995. Under his leadership, the School of the Arts earned both national and international recognition. He then accepted the position of Executive Vice President at Chicago State University until he retired a second time in 1998 to devote full-time to his art.

DePillars’ work is in private and public collections and has been shown in numerous solo and group exhibitions and galleries, including the Fay Gold Gallery in Atlanta, Mississippi Museum of Art, Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, Orlando Museum of Art, Studio Museum of Harlem, Whitney Museum of American Art, World Expo in Spokane, and recently at Joysmith Gallery in Memphis.

Educated in the public schools of Chicago, DePillars earned an A.A. in fine arts from Kennedy-King Community College, a B.A. in art education and an M.A. in urban studies from Roosevelt University. He received his Ph.D. from The Pennsylvania State University.

The exhibition opens on Thursday, March 3, with an opening reception at 5 p.m., and continues through April 10 in the Bradbury Gallery.  Gallery hours are noon to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday and 2 to 5 on Sunday.  The exhibition is admission-free and open to the public.  Support for this exhibition was provided in part by the Arkansas State University Office of Diversity.  For additional information please contact the Bradbury Gallery at 870-972-3471.