Current Exhibition

 A new exhibition at Smoky Valley Arts and Folklife Center explores the transcendental function of art, according to artist William Counter. The exhibition, “Dweller on the Threshold,” opens April 5 and continues through April 28, with a closing reception on Sunday, April 28. The artist will give a gallery talk at 2:30 p.m.

Counter is based on his family farm outside of Chapman and is a graduate of Painting-Printmaking from the Kansas City Art Institute in 1999. Although he is primarily a studio artist, he has painted several murals in Abilene. His new body of work is mystically inspired paintings that delve into the psychological spectrum of ‘boundary’ experiences ranging from illumination to madness. He uses the portrait as a symbolic landscape to express the inner quality of the sacred or Holy, often referring these figures to certain actions or events. The presentation of the paintings is enhanced by an elaborate framing technique that lends itself toward the devotional or venerated object.

“The paintings are really directed toward what might be described as the transcendental function of art rather than representational or descriptive,” said Counter. “I hope that the impact on the viewer will be a slowing down or suspension of time, an opportunity to encounter a transcendent moment.”

The Smoky Valley Arts and Folklife Center is open from 1-5 p.m. Friday through Sunday and is supported by Raymer Society and the McPherson Community Foundation.