The Fairfield University Art Museum is pleased to present “Rick Shaefer: The Refugee Trilogy,” the inaugural exhibition of a monumental new series by Rick Shaefer, created in response to the ongoing refugee crisis convulsing the globe. “The Refugee Trilogy” will be on view in the Walsh Gallery from September 8 – October 22, 2016; an Opening Reception will take place on September 7, from 6-7:30 pm. The exhibition and reception are free and open to the public.
This three-piece suite is comprised of “Land Crossing,” dealing with the migration across foreign lands; “Water Crossing,” addressing the perilous journeys of refugees on the open seas; and “Border Crossing,” spotlighting the conflicts and hostilities faced at borders. The trilogy employs the artistic lexicon of the Baroque and of Romanticism (specifically incorporating heroic figurative elements of paintings by Rubens and Géricault) to explore this contemporary crisis in a language both familiar and iconic. Such historical allusions underscore the tenacious persistence of this epic human tragedy throughout time, past and present.
In addition to the three triptychs, each executed in charcoal on vellum, the exhibition will include a number of Shaefer’s preparatory drawings for the series.