A gallery talk and art opening of "Breathing: New Plaster Casts, Paintings and Drawings," an exhibit of the work of Ricky Sears, will take place at 6 p.m. Monday, March 2, at the Peacock Gallery in Russell Hall of the Cochran Campus of Middle Georgia State College. This event is free and open to the public.  His work will continue to be displayed through March 27.  See examples of Sears' work at http://rickysears.com/home.html.

Artist's description of exhibit: Ricky Sears presents plaster casts, paintings, and drawings at Peacock Gallery at Middle Georgia State College opening March 2, 2015. The latest in a series of works that explore mark making, his current interest is in breathing – or respire, a verb meaning to inhale and exhale air for the purpose of maintaining life – where his breath is used to establish pattern, space, and movement in plaster.

“Since destroying my graduate school work, I recognize that the act of breathing, like the recognition of a pattern in art, is at the foundation of a life lived in the present. Taking time to feel the breath as we move from one action or activity to another can make us aware of our good and bad habits. Like breathing, we often neglect or ignore individual expression: a necessary action.” The breath is a beat from which living time is measured, and the repetition of line, color, and texture record how this repetitive action can also direct the brush in his watercolors as much as it creates the indentations and swirls solidified in plaster.  This action is harnessed to create and inspire. “Because we are each capable of unique expression and are compelled to create in our life, these works are meant as an invitation for the viewer to find a connection to one’s breath.”

Hung together with these works are 4×4-inch oil paintings inspired by bird flight patterns and sunlight skies. These pieces serve as counterpoint to the grounding action of breathing to instead direct one’s attention to fleeting moments. “I use color to create lines from the space between and around the subject of barn swallow flight patterns. The negative space is used to delineate the patterns and I work in oils and watercolors to create the illusion of space. From some perspectives you feel the movement at ground level and at others you are viewing things midair with the appearance of an endless sky. I invite the viewer to be in a position in the air that is central to the formation of the other plaster pieces in this show.”

Ricky Sears earned his MFA in Fine Arts from the School of Visual Art, New York, NY in 2006 and has earned fellowships and residencies for his work including a Workspace Residency from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council and an Emerging Artist Fellowship at Socrates Sculpture Park. He has been a visiting assistant professor at Washington College, Chestertown, Maryland and Northern Virginia Community College where he currently serves as a mentor of the Bio-Art STEAM program. He is teaching painting and drawing this year at Landon School in Bethesda, Maryland.