Craighead Green Gallery will present a three-person exhibition featuring Danna Ruth Harvey, Kendall Stallings and Jeff Wenzel.

Inspired by the writings & life of Edith Stein, Danna Ruth Harvey is created this group of mixed media paintings. Edith Stein’s work explores questions of Philosophy, Theology and Education. Being a Jewish German Philosopher, her life was one of "Heroic Virtue" perishing at the hands of the Nazi Regime in 1942. Harvey translates Stein’s ideas into conceptual images using a wax medium in a cold encaustic technique, suspending the oil pigment and collage elements in wax. The completed paintings are then entombed in multiple layers of wax, creating a translucent veil.

Harvey is a Houston based artist represented by fine art galleries across the nation. Harvey holds an MFA with honors from Northern Vermont University. Her work is inspired by theological and philosophical writings. Though figurative in appearance, her work always has a deeper underlying meaning. Her depictions of “living things in God’s creation” are metaphors for life’s challenges.

Stallings usually depicts a suited male figure in the wild. By portraying improbable but not impossible situations, Stallings explores the tension between nature and human. Stallings draws the comparison to a potted plant in the lobby of a high rise. While dependent on their environment, they both are alien to their environment. The subjects are ever changing but this dichotomy is an underlying theme in his work.

Wenzel explores a multitude of mental states and emotions in his abstract compositions. Wenzel works in an intuitive and instinctive manner that acts as a gateway to his inner self. In his mixed media paintings he incorporates collage elements that give his pieces a textured surfaces and layering.

Following the opening reception, the exhibit will be on view through October 5.