Georgia Southwestern professor opens Albany Museum of Art lecture series

Sep. 27—ALBANY ─ A series of fall lectures offering insights to the Renaissance and Baroque periods, during which some of the world's most inspiring art was created, starts Thursday at the Albany Museum of Art with a presentation by Keaton Wynn, an art professor at Georgia Southwestern State University.

Wynn, who teaches both art history and ceramics at GSW, will explore "Spiritual Realities within the Immanent Frame." The lecture begins at 5:30 p.m. and includes a walk-through of "European Splendors: Old Master Paintings from the Kress Collection," which continues on exhibition in the AMA Haley Gallery through Dec. 23.

The lecture series, funded by a grant from the Georgia Council for the Arts, is designed to share information on Renaissance and Baroque works of art and to provide context. Twenty-nine paintings from the two periods are in the "European Splendors" exhibition on loan from the Columbia Museum of Art in South Carolina.

"We are thrilled for Professor Wynn to kick off this exciting lecture series at the AMA," Annie Vanoteghem, director of education and public programming for the AMA, said in a news release. "His passion for the arts along with his energetic disposition is sure to capture the attention of our audience. We hope you will join us as we take a deep dive into the works of the Kress Collection."

The lectures in the series are aimed at high school students in southwest Georgia, but are open to everyone. The AMA asks those who visit the museum to wear masks and observe social distancing protocols. There is no charge to attend, but the AMA is asking those interested in coming to register online. A registration link for each lecture may be found at www.albanymuseum.com/european-splendors-lectures.

Wynn has an master's degree in Art History from Virginia Commonwealth University. A practicing artist exhibiting widely in regional, national and international exhibitions, he also has an master's in Ceramics from Kent State University and a bachelor's degree in Ceramics from Missouri State University.

While teaching at GSW, Wynn received the President's Award for Excellence in Service in 2010 and the Faculty Excellence in Scholarship award in 2016.

In recent years, he has directed study-abroad programs to China, Africa and Nepal. Wynn has given workshops and presentations nationally and internationally and has been a visiting scholar at the Xi'an Academy of Fine Art in Xi'an China, The Dunhuang School of Art, Northwest Normal University, and Shanghai Normal University.

Since fall 2012, Keaton has been the creative director of the Dunhuang Creative Center, which was established at Lanzhou City University, where he has taught and serves as a professor of art. Under his direction in this role, LZCU has developed the only ceramics degree program in Gansu province, which is now the largest program of its kind in western China.

Recently, Keaton completed a multiyear research project into the use of indigenous materials for ceramic production in western China. He also established a visiting artists program in Lanzhou focusing on Western artist's responses to Yellow River culture, the Silk-Road, and the Dunhuang Buddhist Grottoes.

In 2017, he established the Center for Chinese Bie modern Studies at GSW in collaboration with the Institute of Aesthetics and Aesthetic Education at Shanghai Normal University. This center encourages critical engagement of contemporary Chinese culture. In 2019, a sister center was established at the University of Primorska in Koper, Slovenia.

Keaton currently lives in Plains with his wife, Stephanie, a medical social worker; two children, Ian and Maya; a Lab Pit Bull mix named Zoe; a yellow cat named Soren Kierkegaard, and his own personal cat, Hildegard, who he quips secretly controls everyone.

"European Splendors: Old Master Paintings from the Kress Collection" is organized by the Columbia Museum of Art with support from the Samuel H. Kress Foundation in New York. Its exhibition at the AMA was made possible by the Walter and Frances Bunzl Family Foundation.

Art professors scheduled to take part in the lecture series, and the dates and subject matter for their lectures, are:

—Oct. 7: Charles Williams; professor of visual art, art appreciation and art history; Albany State University; "Multi-culturalism and the Artist Perspective in Renaissance Art";

—Oct. 21: Grace Harpster; assistant professor of art history; Georgia State University; "Material and Meaning in the European Splendors Exhibition";

—Nov. 18: Elissa Auerbach; professor of art history; Georgia College & State University; "Art for Faith's Sake! How Religious Art Divided Europe in Early Modernity";

—Dec. 9: Joyce de Vries; professor and Department of Art & History chair; Auburn University; "Living with Art: Paintings from the European Splendors Exhibition in the Renaissance Household."

The Albany Museum of Art is located at 311 Meadowlark Drive, adjacent to Albany State University's West Campus just off Gillionville Road. The museum is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. The Albany Museum of Art is open to the public 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. Admission is free.