Art professor offers retrospective exhibit as he nears retirement

 

GOSHEN, Ind. – Goshen College Professor of Art John Blosser will be retiring at the end of this school year after college teaching for 30 years, but first he has offered a retrospective exhibit of his artwork done throughout his career. It is on display in the college's Hershberger Art Gallery until Oct. 24, with a reception during the college's Homecoming Weekend on Oct. 2 from 2 to 4 p.m. The exhibit and reception are free and open to the public.

Blosser, a 1970 Goshen College graduate, wrote in his artist's statement: "My 'trial by fire' beginnings as an anxious neophyte junior high school art teacher in the West Noble Schools system launched me into a rich and challenging artist-teacher career. Circumstances and wanderlust led me away from Elkhart and Noble Counties to Zambia, Africa; Bowling Green, Ohio; Winkler, Manitoba, Canada; Hesston, Kansas and Tempe, Arizona only to return to Goshen now over a decade ago. The works in this exhibit span all but the first four years of that trajectory and serve as something of a GPS for my life, a spicy blend of stiff challenges and unanticipated 'blessings.'"

The exhibit includes drawings and oil paintings. "The obvious variation in styles, media and approaches bares witness to my periodic need to explore new directions in my art, which at least obliquely references my life experiences of the time," Blosser wrote.

Blosser earned a Master of Arts degree in painting and drawing from Bowling Green State University, Ohio in 1979 and a Master of Fine Arts degree in drawing from Arizona State University, Tempe, Ariz. in 1986. For 20 years, Blosser taught art and humanities courses at Hesston (Kan.) College, and then in 1999 joined the Goshen College art faculty.

Blosser's art has been exhibited in numerous regional and national invitational and juried shows, some in Texas, Kansas, Chicago and New York. Additionally, his works are included in more than 40 private and public collections. He has served as juror for art exhibits and offered lectures and workshops to high schools, colleges and universities across the Midwest and Canada.

The Hershberger Art Gallery, located in the Music Center, is open from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The building is accessible to people using wheelchairs and others with physical limitations.

Editors: For more information about this release, to arrange an interview or request a photo, contact Goshen College News Bureau Director Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.

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Goshen College, established in 1894, is a residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college's Christ-centered core values – passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron's Best Buys in Education, "Colleges of Distinction," "Making a Difference College Guide" and U.S.News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges" edition, which named Goshen a "least debt college." Visit www.goshen.edu.