PARKERSBURG - Marietta businessman and artist John Rossi will be the focus of the next exhibit at the Parkersburg Art Center.
The show entitled "Some Energy to Share" will open Friday with a reception from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the art center at 725 Market St. in Parkersburg. There is a $10 charge for non-art center members to attend the opening reception, while members can attend for free.
The exhibit, which features works by Rossi from 1976 to the present, will close June 5.
Art center director Abby Hayhurst said the works in the show include Rossi's collages, assemblages and installations. There are works in both two- and three-dimensions.
"This one has been sort of an interesting challenge to hang because much of it is quite large, and John likes to work in unusual shapes and on unusual materials. But we think the show is really going to catch the public's attention," Hayhurst said.
Rossi came to the Mid-Ohio Valley in the early 1970s to start Rossi's Pasta. He opted out of management of the company and now devotes his full-time efforts to his artworks. He has a master's degree in studio art from Ohio University in Athens.
Rossi's exhibition at the art center is made possible by gifts from Dan Marshall, Attorney at Law, United Bank, Tri-State Roofing & Sheet Metal Company, Pioneer Pipe Inc. and Alliance Industries Inc.
The exhibition is open to the public Wednesdays through Saturdays. Admission is $2 for adults, with no charge for children under 12.
Following the Rossi exhibition, the art center will be showing works by the Innovative Arts Alliance, 13 artists from Ohio and West Virginia.
The center's summer "Camp Creativity" will begin June 3 and feature seven weeks of arts activities for young people ages four through 19.
