Trio of Free Artist Receptions, Exhibits at LTCC

September 18, 2017

photo from Frances Melhop's "Comstock Portrait Project"The community is warmly invited to Lake Tahoe Community College on Thursday, September 28 to enjoy three new art exhibit openings that evening. Free artist receptions will be held simultaneously from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. around LTCC’s campus, providing an opportunity to meet the artists whose work will be on display and to enjoy light refreshments with other local supporters of the arts.

In the Haldan Art Gallery located in the library building will be Frances Melhop’s “Comstock Portrait Project, 2013-2017.” Melhop will deliver an artist’s talk about her photographs at 5:30 p.m. Since moving to Nevada, Melhop has worked with people from frontier mining towns like Silver City, Gold Hill and Virginia City, capturing these small time capsules of the old American Wild West. The result is a collection of large-scale portraits of Comstock folk, recordings of their recollections and stories, and photographs of homes found in these isolated communities. Melhop was LTCC’s Visiting Artist this past May, when she came to talk about her work in fashion and advertising photography. Her work has been featured in the pages of Vogue, Glamour, Marie Claire, and more. She was based in Australia from 1989-1999 and then in Italy from 2000 to 2010. She is well known in Europe and the South Pacific as a creator of unique imagery in the fashion-advertising arena. For more about her work, visit her website: www.frances-melhop.com.

In the Main Building on campus, explore award-winning artwork by LTCC’s talented students in the 2017 Student Winners Exhibition. The artwork featured in this exhibit took home awards at the Annual Student Art Exhibition in Spring 2017, which was judged by Guest Juror Frances Melhop. You’ll also see some new works created by the winning artists since the spring exhibit.

In the LTCC Foyer Gallery located in the Fine Arts Building, catch a collection of photographs in the exhibit, “Jessica Heath: Left Behind.” Heath is a photographer based in South Lake Tahoe whose work showcases a strong sense of composition, focusing on abstract shapes, close-ups, textures, lines, and shadows. She works with digital photography as well as black and white film photography, developing and printing her own work in the darkroom. Much of Heath’s work is created while on road trips around Northern California, exploring abandoned structures. She enjoys capturing the eerie mood of these dilapidated places and bringing attention to overlooked details in the world around her. For more about Heath’s work, check out her website: www.jessicaheathphotography.com.

All of these exhibits will remain open through December 1, 2017. The Haldan Art Gallery hours are Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and Fridays from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., closed on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays. The Foyer Gallery and Student Gallery can be accessed Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturdays 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information about these exhibits and LTCC’s Art Department, please contact LTCC art instructor Phyllis Shafer at Shafer@ltcc.edu.