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"Myth and Reality - The American West," (40"x50") oil painting in a painting, by Don Crouch
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Crouch Retirement Reception May 4

May 2, 2011

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MACOMB, IL – A reception for Professor of Art Don Crouch, who is retiring after 46 years of teaching at Western Illinois University, will be held from 4-6 p.m. Wednesday, May 4 in the University Art Gallery.

A noted American West artist, Crouch's last solo exhibit in the University Art Gallery, titled "Don Crouch: Early, Middle and Recent Works, 1965-2007," was in Fall 2007.

He said his artwork "has evolved around archeology and the natural world, including landscape and mammals. I work in all mediums. To me it is the total thought that counts, regardless of style or medium."

Among the mediums Crouch has taught and has created artwork in are sculpture, drawing, oil painting and paintings within a painting.

Crouch was among 19 artists featured in the prestigious 2003 "New Art of the West 8," a biennial exhibition at the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art in Indianapolis. The museum showcases the work of Native Americans and other contemporary artists who create work about the American West.

In the artist's statement for that show, Crouch wrote: "My early connection with horses, ranchers, ruins, artifacts, the border between the United States and Mexico, and the confluence of diverse peoples leads me to both old and new ideas, and the meeting of myth and reality. My heritage includes the form and content of my art. I am constantly aware of the cycle of the West as I encounter ancient and more recent artists and objects, often utilitarian, but left behind in the rush of history…My goal is to capture the essence of my subjects with an implicit timelessness."

Crouch's work is in many public collections and has been the topic of numerous news stories and magazine features.

Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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