Design and Multimedia Faculty Art Show at MCC on Main

Manchester, CT – March 4, 2014 . . . The Adolf and Virginia Dehn Gallery at MCC on Main will host current works by the Manchester Community College Design and Multimedia faculty at an exhibition running March 21 through April 24.  The opening reception will by on Friday, March 28 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. with commentary by the artists and live music by Patrick Sullivan and Black Cadillac. Light refreshments will be served. The exhibition opening is free and open to the public.

 Scheduled to exhibit are:

The Graphic Design, Multimedia and new Game Design Programs at Manchester Community College are coordinated by Professor Edward Hogan, an award-winning designer and artist working in the greater Hartford region.  Ed has created and sustained all three programs at MCC, with the addition of the Game Design Program in the past two years. Ed’s drawings, 3D modeling and animation work, as well as designs for the college’s annual Evening of Fine Wines fundraiser, can be seen throughout MCC, and the community. 

Adjunct Professor Susan Brereton is an illustrator, artist, and graphic designer, and an instructor of Illustration at Manchester Community College. Susan’s passion lies in Maine – there’s little about it that doesn’t appeal to her creative nature. It began at an early age when Susan’s father was stationed at the Brunswick Naval Air base. She and her family lived in Bath for the first two years of her life before moving to Connecticut. Even though she’s lived there ever since, Susan never stops dreaming of ways to return to Maine. Fortunately, she has spent her summers in Maine since moving from Bath. The last few years, she vacationed on Vinalhaven where she has been working on a series of Vinalhaven paintings and pastels highlighting images of island life.

If Susan’s passion is Maine, her first love is art. Flowers, portraits, and Maine scenes are among her favorite subjects for her oils, pastels, and watercolors. Besides her Maine Event series, she has a floral series done in gouache. Her portraits feature children and pets rendered in oils, pastels, and mixed media. Susan has exhibited at New Century Artists Gallery in Chelsea, New York. She also has exhibited at several galleries in Vinalhaven and Islesboro, Maine. Her works have been accepted into numerous juried art shows in Connecticut. She earned her master of fine arts degree in Illustration from Hartford Art School, University of Hartford, and her master of arts degree in Illustration from Syracuse University, where she studied under such renowned illustrators as C. F. Payne, Murray Tinkelman, Herb Tauss and Betsy and Ted Lewin. Susan has a communications design business called design2, llc located in Simsbury, Connecticut. For more information about Susan and her art, visit Susan Brereton: Fine Art & Prints.

David Calabrese is an Instructor of Game Design at Manchester Community College, as well as an artist with a traditional and digital art education. He has a BFA from the Hartford Art School and an MFA from Savannah College of Art and Design. According to Calabrese, “I have been a professional artist since 2003. My professional industry experiences include 3D Art, Animation, and Illustration. I have held employment in at several companies and institutions that have spanned Computer Games, Casino Games, Publication, and Education. I am currently employed as an Instructor in higher education. I still continue to pursue my freelance career outside of education.” You can find out more about David and his work at Artist David Calabrese.

Adjunct Professor Laurie Grace is an artist, illustrator, designer and holds part-time faculty positions at Quinnipiac University and Manchester Community College, teaching a variety of Interactive Digital Design and Creative Arts courses. Before moving to Connecticut in 2002, she lived in New York City for twenty years working as an informational graphics illustrator and designer. Some of her clients included Scientific American, Time, Newsweek, Forbes and Discover. When she is not in front of her computer or in her studio she is spending time training and competing with her dogs – Emma, Kai, and Zuni – in agility and herding. She earned her MFA in Visual Arts from the Art Institute of Boston, at Lesley University. Learn more at laurie grace works.

Professor Maura O’Connor teaches Graphic Design I-IV, Introduction to Computer Graphics and Digital Short Films at Manchester Community College.  She is also Curator of the Adolf and Virginia Dehn Gallery at MCC on Main.  She has brought shows featuring Connecticut artists as well as international artists to the greater Hartford region through the gallery which celebrated its first year anniversary in September, 2013. Read more about Maura at Maura O’Connor’s wiki

Adjunct Professor Kathleen Smits teaches Introduction to Computer Graphics at Manchester Community College.  She also teaches Fine Art and Digital Media classes, does curriculum development for digital media courses, painting with oils, and develops and create a genre of digital fine art using photography, graphic design and web portfolio design. More about her work can be found at Kathleen Curran Smits.

 Adjunct Professor Michael Toti teaches Graphic Design I-IV at Manchester Community College.  He is an award winning artist and designer in the Greater Hartford region.  His work can be found at Michael Toti.

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About MCC on Main
MCC on Main, Manchester Community College’s Arts and Education Center, is an art gallery (including a video gallery), entrepreneurship center, café, and seminar and conference room space for hosting classes and event-related programming. The Adolf and Virginia Dehn Gallery at MCC on Main features national artists, as well as local and emerging artists. A variety of programs and services that bring arts, education and the community together are offered. MCC on Main is made possible by a partnership among Manchester Community College, the Town of Manchester and the MCC Foundation, Inc., and the generosity of First Niagara Bank Foundation. MCC on Main is located at 903 Main Street, Manchester, Connecticut and is open Wednesday and Thursday, 11 a.m.- 8 p.m.; and Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. – 10 p.m. Additional information is available at MCC on Main.

About MCC
Students of any age who possess the desire to pursue higher education are welcome at Manchester Community College. MCC is proud of its academic excellence, new facilities, flexible schedules, small classes, low tuition and faculty with both academic and “real world” credentials. The college offers over 60 programs, transfer options, financial aid and scholarships, as well as access to baccalaureate degrees through guaranteed admissions programs with several universities. The main, park-like campus, which is easily accessible from I-84, is also the home of Great Path Academy, a middle college high school, serving grades 9-12. The college’s second location, the Manchester Community College Arts and Education Center, opened in downtown Manchester in 2012.