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‘After/Before’

Ross Art Museum Exhibits Thought-Provoking Photography by Ohio Wesleyan Alumna JoAnn Verburg

DELAWARE – For her first exhibit at Ohio Wesleyan University’s Richard M. Ross Art Museum, renowned photographer JoAnn Verburg contemplates everyday objects “After/Before” they become trash.

Verburg’s careful consideration of the natural world is a hallmark of her photography, said Ross Art Museum Director Erin Fletcher, who worked with Verburg to bring the display to campus. The photographer’s “After/Before” exhibit will be on display from Aug. 21 through Oct. 20 at the Ross Art Museum, 60 S. Sandusky St., Delaware.

“As a title, ‘After/Before’ is the reversal of an expected sequence,” said Fletcher, who will host a curator’s tour of the display at 5 p.m. Sept. 18. “Consumers begin with the purchase of an object and dispose of it when done. By flipping the order we anticipate, this exhibition’s title serves as a reminder that the objects in these photographs do not cease to exist when we throw them away.”

Verburg, a 1972 Ohio Wesleyan graduate, will visit campus Oct. 17 to take part in a panel discussion on “Careers in the Arts” with Peter MacGill, OWU Class of 1974, president of the Pace/MacGill Gallery in New York. Their free, public discussion – part of Ohio Wesleyan’s 2019 Sagan National Colloquium – will begin at 5 p.m. in the Bayley Room on the second floor of OWU's Beeghly Library, 43 Rowland Ave., Delaware. It will be followed at 6 p.m. by an exhibit walk-through at the Ross.

The museum also will host a wine-and-cheese reception with Verburg from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 18, as part of Ohio Wesleyan’s 2019 Homecoming and Family Weekend. Admission is $10 at the door.

Verburg received her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Ohio Wesleyan and her Master of Fine Arts in Photography from the Rochester Institute of Technology. She has since earned a Guggenheim Fellowship, multiple art fellowships from both the Bush Foundation and the McKnight Foundation, and a Rockefeller Foundation Residency at the Bellagio Conference and Study Center in Italy.

In addition, Verburg has held teaching positions at Yale University, the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, and was an Artist-in-Residence at the Rhode Island School of Design.

Throughout her career, Verburg’s work has been shown at venues including New York’s iconic Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). To date, she is the only Ohio Wesleyan graduate to receive this honor.

Learn more about Verburg and her photography at http://joannverburg.com.

During the academic year, Ohio Wesleyan’s Richard M. Ross Art Museum is open Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. The Ross will be closed Oct. 9-13 for mid-semester break. The museum is handicap-accessible and admission is always free. Call (740) 368-3606 or visit www.owu.edu/ross for more information. Follow the museum on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RossArtMuseum.

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Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation’s premier liberal arts universities. Located in Delaware, Ohio, the private university offers more than 90 undergraduate majors and competes in 25 NCAA Division III varsity sports. Through Ohio Wesleyan’s signature OWU Connection program, students integrate knowledge across disciplines, build a diverse and global perspective, and apply their knowledge in real-world settings. Ohio Wesleyan is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives” and included in the U.S. News & World Report and Princeton Review “best colleges” lists. Learn more at www.owu.edu.