Organic by Nature Exhibit Opens at Houghton University

January 10, 2023

“No place is a place until it has found its poet,” wrote Wallace Stegner in his novel Crossing to Safety. Walden Pond garnered fame because Thoreau wrote about it. Monterey’s Cannery Row would not beckon tourists without Steinbeck’s novel by that title. It could be argued, too, that no place is a place until it has found its artist. In the hamlet of Houghton, nestled among rolling hills and the meandering Genesee river, is a handful of artists perfecting their craft, raising their families, and transforming the landscape of Houghton into a storied place.

In the Ortlip Gallery at Houghton University’s Center for the Arts is a new exhibit titled Organic by Nature featuring the recent works of Art Faculty Theodore Murphy, John Rhett, Ryann Cooley, and Aaron Harrison. Though each artist uses different media, the motif of nature subtly unites them. Upon entering the gallery you transcend the quotidian and enter a place of tranquility to reflect upon what is oft dismissed. You feel connection between your own small life—its periodic loneliness and fragility—and the larger world.

The annual Art Faculty Show at Houghton University gives us a window into what these artists have been pondering over the previous year. Their musings create a rhythm in our own lives as we anticipate what their next show will bring. Art student Aubree Niles (class of ’24) explains, “I think the most exciting part [of the Art Faculty show] is just seeing what they’ve been working on behind the scenes, outside of class. I respect all four of them very much. They’ve done well at helping us to see the world differently through art. And now we get to apply that when we walk into the gallery and look at their work.”

Meet a Faculty Member

Theodore Murphy has been a professor at Houghton University since 1986. He is known for his encyclopedic memory of art history, his love of literature, and a mastery of nearly every style of painting, from Dutch Realism to Modern Abstract and everything in between. In this show he focuses on watercolor paintings of objects he finds on his routine walks or in his travels farther afield. Murphy explains, “I am interested in the ephemeral nature of change with leaves and the nearly timeless configuration of rocks.” These close-up depictions of natural compositions could be mistaken for photographs, as they are painstakingly accurate. They call us to pause and to seek the beauty that we often overlook.

Ted Murphy

Professor of Art

John Rhett began teaching at Houghton in 1995. His expertise stretches from oil paintings, to watercolors, charcoal drawings, and graphic design. A native of Virginia, John has taught Houghton art students over the years how to see color and light as well as develop their technological savvy. In this exhibit Rhett’s works are oil landscapes of his yard or nearby locales. Like Murphy, Rhett’s ability to see the sublime in the mundane invites us to embrace life more fully. Rhett writes, “When author Walker Percy remarked that sometimes the hardest thing to do in life is to get through an ordinary Wednesday afternoon, he shared his remarkable insight into the poignancy and power of the often routine – but singular – series moments that constitute our experience.”

John Rhett

Professor of Art

Ryann Cooley spent over two decades as a very successful New York City-based photographer before leaving industry work in 2013 to embark on a new career as a professor at Houghton University. In this exhibit he showcases photographs from three different bodies of work. One is his ongoing Collective: Individual series which was the 2019 Southern Tier Biennial Best of Show winner. These portraits encased in glass rods highlight the “phenomenon of human perception” and draw attention to the physical and spatial qualities of the work while still allowing us to consider the subject within the photo. Cooley’s other two bodies of work featured in Organic by Nature were created in 2022. One series, photographed entirely during a visit to the Buffalo Botanical Garden, is dark and moody, with just enough illumination to transport the viewer into the middle of an exotic tropical forest. Finally, Cooley also releases a body of work he calls an “introspective of his relationship with western New York.” Having moved from the city to our rural corner of the state, Cooley processes his relationship with the culture and environment of this area, prompting us all to ponder the austerity, strength, loneliness and beauty we often see and feel.

Ryann Cooley

Professor of Digital Media and Photography

Meet a Faculty Member

One highlight for Visitors of this exhibit is that they are invited to interact with Harrison’s Million Birds of Hope 1 installation. Evolved from a decade-long project in which Harrison created a thousand slip cast ceramic birds to raise money for World Vision, Harrison’s rekindled project invites viewers to take a small ceramic bird from the installation as what he calls, “a reminder to keep hope alive every day. Five hundred birds will be on display. Five hundred birds are available for anyone to have. And, hopefully, these five hundred birds will inspire hope in countless others.”

Organic by Nature is on display from January 13 through February 4 on the Houghton University Campus. Gallery hours are Monday through Saturday 9am – 6pm. All are welcome to attend the opening reception on January 13^th, 6:30-8 pm. There will be light refreshments (starting at 6:30 pm) and a brief gallery talk (7 pm). Come see how these artists make a place for all of us.