Works by Kreps, Titus to be on display during March at Alliance Art Gallery

HANNIBAL, Mo. — The Alliance Art Gallery is featuring the work of guest artist Patricia Kreps and member artist Ann Miller Titus during March as the Alliance Art Gallery’s Second Saturday continues at 121 N. Main on March 11.

An opening reception will be from 4-7 p.m. with artist-provided refreshments. Receive a ticket to win a piece of art any time during the day. Brief talks by Kreps and Titus will begin at 6 p.m. followed by the drawing at 6:30. The winner, if not present, is notified. This event is free and open to the public.

Kreps says the desire to create art tugged at her throughout her life. She remembers the teachers who encouraged, the mother who bought her art supplies and her choice to be an art major in college.

The driving force behind her art happened in Europe. Spending her junior college year in Strasburg, France, she immersed herself in French culture, art and history. A spring trip to the visually intoxicating tulip fields of Holland catapulted her into an epiphany.

In a press release, Kreps said, “I had an aesthetic experience. The spirituality of that landscape sealed that for me. I wanted to record the feeling of that landscape.” Later, traveling to Greece for a year with her husband, she experienced the sacredness of sanctuaries, antiquities and the land itself.

Kreps earned her bachelor’s degree in fine arts from the University of Texas, followed by a master’s degree in art history. She moved with her husband to Missouri, where she has resided for the past 30 years and taught at Truman State University, Mizzou and Stephens College. Kreps got her master’s degree in fine arts at Mizzou.

Why is art important? That is the question Titus grappled with, along with other board and staff members of the Quincy Art Center. Gradually one answer kept popping up. Connection.

In a press release, Titus explains, “That got me thinking about doing a new series. There is the beauty, the wonder that comes out of connection. Even in situations of unresolve … there is a connection. Connections are hard, but that is where we unfold. That is what we are supposed to do. I don’t think we are made to be disconnected.

“I had some work previously where I used a motif I really enjoyed—circles, orbs, donut shapes. I’m exploring how these shapes can represent people. They can interact, touch, connect.”

She began to create. “Cautiously Contiguous,” which recently won Best-of-Show at the Quincy Art Center, embodies the connection where we may sit close to one another but not really be transformed in any way … like strangers on a subway.

“A Favorable Exchange,” in Ann’s words, “features two orbs at the top, not touching, but there are visual elements that connect the two like exchanging information or ideas. A lot of energy.” One senses an outpouring of creative ideas, shared enthusiasms, pure joy almost leaping out of the fibers.

“How Can We Be Together” is the first piece created by Kreps, who wonders, “How do we exist when different? How can we be authentic and still be together?”