Athol resident Robert G. Osborne will be the featured artist in the East Wing Gallery of Mount Wachusett Community College, 444 Green St. in Gardner, starting Wednesday.
The exhibit, which is the opening show of the semester, is titled “Constructions” and will run through Oct. 2, with an opening reception Friday, Sept. 7, from 5 to 7 p.m.
Osborne, now 88, who was born in Manhattan, became a contemporary art dealer and Director of the Osborne Gallery on Madison Avenue in New York City. Later, working as a private dealer in 19th- and 20th-century art, he sold works to private collectors and museums, concentrating on university study collections. He retired in the early 1980s to return to his original interest: making art.
The works in the exhibit can be described as “Constructivist-influenced sculpture and three dimensional objects with an architectural frame of reference.” Materials include wood, metal, slate, fabric, string, rope, wire, latex and oil pastel. Some of the pieces were inspired by and include found materials from a now defunct Athol furniture factory.
Osborne moved to the North Quabbin region with his wife, Margot Parrot, about five years ago. He continues to work in a studio attached to his home in Athol.
When he discovered the Art Department at Mount Wachusett Community College, he immediately signed up for several of the studio art courses, painting and drawing alongside the students who are working toward their degrees in art. He also joined painting and drawing classes at Greenfield Community College. He credits the students and professors in these art departments with inspiring him to continue his artistic development, and hopes that more people will discover the amazing resources we have for art students in this region.
Gallery hours are Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Osborne will also give an artist talk in the gallery on Thursday, Sept. 27, from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.
To see Osborne’s work, visit his website at www.robertgosborne.com. For more information about the East Wing Gallery, contact the gallery director, Joyce Miller, at j_miller@mwcc.mass.edu.