traditional art form

By JAINE TREADWELL

Features Editor

Published Aug. 20, 1999

The exhibition season at TSU’s Malone Gallery opened Thursday afternoon with a lecture by emerging fine artist Romy Roman. A reception in Roman’s honor followed the lecture.

Roman calls her work "batik" because she has adapted the batik process on fabric to paper and canvas.

"By allowing my paint to be my dye and the oil pastel to be my wax, I have reinvented the traditional batik medium," Roman said. "Each batik is an original in concept and design."

The Roman exhibition, which will run through Sept. 16, consists of 32 batiks, most of which are paper.

"My paper batiks comment of the human condition," Roman said. "Birth and death are instant events in itself. The continum of life in between birth and death, our ‘living’ intrigues me."

Roman said what interests her most, as a person and as an artist, is how people deal with their own identities and those with whom they come in contact during the course of their lives.

"It speaks to me through a language that is neither written nor heard," Roman said. "A visual language that our body speaks through movements, gestures and actions. Body language communicates our reactions to the world around us without saying a word. Those sensitivities I interpret for the viewer with an artistic format."

Pam Allen, gallery director said Roman’s work should appeal to a wide range of interests and to all ages.

"Roman’s work is figuratgive and deals with the human body in a graphic way," Allen said. "Young people will be interested in her work as well as anyone who is interested in clean lines, clean design and well use of the page," Allen said. "Her paper batiks are rich in color and unique in surface texture. They are wonderful works of art."

Roman’s gallery representations include the prestigious Tustin Renaissance Art Gallery, Tustin, Calif. ; the Gallery Ten, Rockford, Ill.; and the Ablerterson-Peterson Art Gallery, Winter Park, Fla. and the Signature Gallery Limited, Sarasota, Fla.

Roman has participated in group exhibitions in Florida and California.

"We want to invite everyone to visit the Romy Roman exhibition. It is very impressive," Allens said.

Malone Gallery hours are 8 a.m. unitl noon and 1 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. There is no admission charge to the gallery.