Date: Aug. 15, 2012
Contact: Carol Connelly, Director, Media & Communication Services, ext. 5267, cconnelly@pnc.edu

PNC Presents "The Art of Otto Neumann: Fifty Years of His Work"

Oil paintings by Otto Neumann now on exhibit at Purdue North Central

WESTVILLE – The Purdue University North Central Odyssey Arts and Cultural Events Series will feature the exhibit, “The Art of Otto Neumann: Fifty Years of his Work” from Aug. 20 through Dec. 21 in the PNC Library-Student-Faculty Building Assembly Hall, Room 02 in the building's lower level. It is free and is open to the public and may be viewed by appointment only.

The show will feature 25 works of art created by Neumann from 1917 through 1970, a span of 53 years.

The pieces are on loan, courtesy of the Otto Neumann Estate and David and Sandra Sokol. David Sokol is c urator of the Otto Neumann Collection .

The pieces on display at PNC include oil, watercolor, linoleum print, pencil drawings, Monoprint, woodcut and a wool weaving done by the artist's wife, Hilde, an accomplished weaver.

Neumann, who was born in 1895 and passed away in 1975, was a German Expressionist painter and printmaker. His work evolved from strongly colored and thickly brushed paintings and sharp and angular black and white prints, to late abstract prints in a variety of colors. Although his style and preferred mediums changed during his long career, the human figure remained his most enduring and constant subject.

As the Nazi regime took hold of his native Germany, Neumann's work was considered degenerate and his refusal to divorce his Jewish wife to further his career set him aside from many of his friends who were more willing to compromise their work and their associations.

Neumann's work is collected by several major museums, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Art Institute of Chicago.

To schedule an appointment to view this exhibit or to obtain further information, contact Judy Jacobi, PNC assistant vice chancellor of Marketing and Campus Relations, at 785-5200, ext. 5593. Persons with disabilities requiring accommodations should contact Jacobi.