FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 25, 2001 CONTACT: Lisa Lacher, (515) 271-3119 ANDERSON GALLERY APPOINTS NEW DIRECTOR, ANNOUNCES FALL EXHIBITION SCHEDULE Drake University's Anderson Gallery has gained a new director: Cira Pascual Marquina, a native of Spain and former assistant curator of the George Washington University Dimock Gallery in Washington, D.C. She succeeds Marie Louise Kane as director of the Anderson Gallery. Born in Zaragoza, Spain, Pascual Marquina moved with her family to Bloomington, Ind., when she was a teen-ager. She graduated from high school in Bloomington, where she went on to earn a bachelor's degree in art history and museum studies at Indiana University. Pascual Marquina began her career as a curatorial intern at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C., then became assistant curator of the George Washington University Dimock Gallery. There she researched, coordinated and installed more than 10 exhibitions, including "Goya: Los Caprichos" and "J.S.G. Boggs Regarding George Washington: The Transactional Image." She moved to Des Moines this spring after her husband, Chris Gilbert, joined the Des Moines Art Center as associate curator. "I'm making my Midwest comeback," she said with a chuckle. Pascual Marquina sees the Anderson Gallery as "a dynamic exhibition space – a showcase for contemporary and historical art." One of her goals is to develop some interdisciplinary exhibitions that involve not only the Department of Art and Design but also the entire University. "It would be great to have some projects that bring a major national or international artist to campus to work with students on a collaborative installation," she said. "There are so many things we could do. It's exhilarating." She also wants to increase the Anderson Gallery's presence in the Des Moines community as a whole. "Exciting and diverse" are the words that Pascual Marquina uses to describe the Anderson Gallery's fall exhibition schedule. The gallery will open its fall season with "AIGA 50 Books/50 Covers." This nationally touring exhibition was organized in collaboration with the American Institute of Graphic Arts and will feature books and book covers selected in a national competition juried by a group of prominent graphic designers. This annual competition recognizes excellence in book design and production. The exhibition opened in New York City, then traveled to Chicago and Orlando, Fla. It will open at the Anderson Gallery on Tuesday, Sept. 4. The opening reception will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 7. The exhibition will continue through Sept. 30 and then move on to Houston and Minneapolis. "Bio-Logic II: Kathleen King's Mixed Media Work" will open with a reception for the Chicago-based artist from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 5. King's mixed media pieces are inspired by organic and biological fragments. Her work reveals the endless variety of nature. She uses photographs, magazine clippings as well as painted fragments to create a wide range of abstracted and evocative images. The exhibition will continue through Nov. 2. The fall season will conclude with an exhibition of paintings by Liz Ward of Castroville, Texas, and large, kinetic (moving) sculptures by Mo Neal of Lincoln, Neb. The opening reception will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 9. Both artists are interested in the nature and the passage of time, and the mark that time leaves on objects. Neal's sculptures have recurring themes such as bodily mechanics and structural space. Ward's work, which includes watercolor and intaglio pieces, is refined and whimsical. The exhibition will run through Dec. 16. Valerie Knowles, a sculptor from Albuquerque, N.M., will teach sculpture at Drake during the 2001-2002 academic year and her installation work will be exhibited at the Anderson Gallery. The opening reception for the exhibition will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 25, 2002. Knowles deals with female imagery in her work. She creates elaborate installations that investigate the nature of regeneration and rebirth. The exhibition will continue through Feb. 22, 2002. The Anderson Gallery is located in the Harmon Fine Arts Center, 25th Street and Carpenter Avenue. Gallery hours are noon to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. For more information about the exhibition and the gallery, call (515) 271-2268 or send an e-mail message to cira.pascual-marquina@drake.edu.