October 15, 2004

The Johnson Art Gallery Presents an Exhibition of Paintings by Peter Tong Xiao

Grand Junction, CO - The exhibit entitled "Makers Making opens on Monday, October 25, 2004. The show is the third in a series this fall that were juried into the exhibit schedule from entries worldwide.

Peter Tong Xiao was born in Beijing, China, and now resides in Rock Island, Illinois, and is an Associate Professor at Augustana College. He has an master's in fine arts degree in painting from the Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia, PA, and has also studied art and English in Iowa and Beijing, China. Tong Xiao has held exhibitions in 12 states from Colorado to New York. His work is held in corporate and private collections across the United States, China and Spain. Several colleges, as well as the Davenport Museum of Art, also have collections of his wok.

In this series of paintings, "Makers Making," men and women with brushes and palettes engage in making each other, which is a self-reference to their artificial presence and space. The work focuses on figural formation and the image-making process.

A reception open to the public to view the exhibit in the gallery is Thursday, October 28 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. The Johnson Gallery is located in the W.W. Campbell College Center at the Mesa State College main campus. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and admission is free. For more information, call the Art Department at 970.248.1833.