Exhibit to display art throughout the life of Goshen College alumna Sylvia Gross Bubalo

Exhibit: "The Art of Sylvia Gross Bubalo (1928-2007): A Retrospective"
Dates: Oct. 26-Dec. 12, 2008
Reception: Sunday, Oct. 26 from 2 to 4 p.m.
Location: The Harold and Wilma Good Library, Goshen College
Cost: Free and open to the public

GOSHEN, Ind. – Artwork from the late Sylvia Gross Bubalo, a 1951 Goshen College graduate, will be on display in the college's Harold and Wilma Good Library from Oct. 26 to Dec. 12. An opening reception for the exhibit "The Art of Sylvia Gross Bubalo (1928-2007): A Retrospective" will take place Oct. 26 from 2 to 4 p.m.

Bubalo's artwork includes oil or acrylic on canvas, watercolor or gauache and Sumi ink on rice paper, along with several smaller works in watercolor, ink and graphite. Beside her two-dimensional visual art, several poems will also be on display.

After graduating from Goshen College with a minor in art, Bubalo attended the Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Chicago and continued studying art at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago from 1955 to 58.

"At the center of Sylvia's creative efforts lies a strong spiritual motif. This may have been inspired in part by her years of study at the Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Chicago, as well as by her Mennonite upbringing – although she considered herself 'not a Mennonite artist, but an artist born into a Mennonite tradition,'" said her brother, historian Leonard Gross. "Through her art, Sylvia interpreted life honestly and with strong vision and idealism. She wrote, 'My aim is for my work to be a window or door to the spiritual, and not an end [in] itself.'"

Bubalo was born in Doylestown, Pa., with muscular dystrophy, a condition that worsened throughout her life. As her condition worsened, she was able to continue creating artwork with the assistance of her husband Vladimir Bubalo. After his death in 1989 she stopped painting and began writing poetry. "Her artwork and poetry betray her deep interest in things spiritual, drinking deeply as she had always done from stories of the Gospels," said Gross.

Faye Peterson will curate the exhibit, which is sponsored by the Mennonite-Amish Museum Committee. The exhibit is free and open to the public.

The Library Gallery, located on the lower level of the Harold and Wilma Good Library on the campus of Goshen College, is open from 7:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, noon to 6 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 11 p.m. Sunday.

–By Tyler Falk

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.