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“MICHAEL ROBERTS REMEMBERED”

“MICHAEL ROBERTS REMEMBERED”

ART EXHIBIT

 

In memory of Michael Roberts and to honor the impact his life and art had on our area, West Plains Council on the Arts will host a multi-media exhibition of pieces of his artwork, loaned from private collections. The exhibit will be displayed at the Gallery at the Center, West Plains Civic Center from November 23 to December 20, 2015.  The Gallery, on the mezzanine, is open to the public during regular Civic Center hours.

Michael Roberts was a well-known and much liked local artist who worked in a wide range of media. When he died in West Plains, Missouri twenty-five years ago he was working as a Special Education teacher. Before moving to West Plains, he had also worked as an art teacher for ten years on an Indian reservation in Arizona. He was the first in the area to die of HIV/Aids; his work is included on the original Aids Quilt.

Roberts was best known for his quirky drawings, elaborate horsewear for Arabian horses, and pastel drawings for the local Wesson Ranch. Many of the paintings commissioned by the Wesson Ranch will be included. Roberts’ work is known to include drawings in pencil, watercolor, oil, crayon, stained glass, and fabric. On display will be whimsical pencil drawings titled “Don Quixote,” “Of Eagles,” “Dawt,” “Icarus,” and “Godiva.”   “The exhibit will also include stories and anecdotes written by those who knew him and were influenced by him.  His children have endorsed the exhibit and will be providing some of the loaned items,” officials said.

For more information about the content of the upcoming exhibit, contact coordinator Gene Weinbeck at 417-274-0876, or by email at gene.weinbeck@gmail.com
WPCA will host an Exhibit Reception on Saturday, December 12, from 2-4 p.m., in the Gallery at the Center. All are invited to attend, view and discuss these wonderful pieces.  The exhibit is co-sponsored by the West Plains Civic Center and West Plains Council on the Arts, with partial funding provided by Missouri Arts Council, a state agency.