Philo hosts grad's art exhibit

New Age music accompanied the low murmur of voices as the crowd milled about a room on the fourth floor of College Hall, examining the paintings of 1996 College of Arts and Sciences graduate Karey Kessler. The display of Kessler's work opened Thursday night as the Philomathean Society celebrated the reopening of its art gallery and the reinstatement of the society's original home in College Hall. Gallery Director and Wharton sophomore Nikhil Da Victoria Lobo spent close to a month preparing for the Kessler exhibit with the help of a committee of Philo members and the artist herself. Guests gave Kessler's paintings high marks. "I think she was a good person to open the gallery with? very new, very urban," College junior Leonard Wood said. The paintings varied considerably, though all were modern and abstract with bright colors in oil paint on either canvas or cloth. They ranged in size from approximately 8 1/2" by 11" to one painting that covered almost an entire wall. And the prices ranged from $300 to $1,000, although the largest piece did not have a listed price. In her artist's statement, Kessler claimed to have been influenced greatly by "non-traditional sources" such as pre-historic petroglyphs and Native American pottery -- as a result of her background in anthropology. Philo's current moderator, College senior Dina Westenholz, commented that the celebration Thursday night was mostly for Philo members, the artist's friends and family and the University administration. But she assured that "we're all here because we get off on [the arts]." The exhibition, as well as future events in connection with it, are open to the public. Kessler graduated from the College with a double major in Fine Arts and Anthropology. Four of the pieces displayed in the exhibition were completed while she was a student at the University and the rest in the two years since her graduation. Although Kessler is a fairly established artist, having participated in seven professional exhibitions since 1994, this was her first solo show. Kessler currently attends the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and is pursuing a master's degree. She hopes to someday teach and continue her work as a professional artist on the side, although she said she is still not completely sure of her plans. The society plans to sponsor study sessions and coffee hours open to all University students in the gallery for all five weeks the exhibition will be in place.