Contrasting works highlight Penn State Abington art gallery's fall exhibitions

ABINGTON, Pa. — The fall exhibition season opened at the Penn State Abington art gallery and adjacent Woodland lobby art space last week featuring Massachusetts-based artist James Maurelle and a series of graphite animal drawings art major Sophie Bell created for an advanced drawing course. The works will be on display until Dec. 5.

John Thompson, gallery director and teaching professor of art, also announced a partnership with Philadelphia's Independence Seaport Museum (ISM) to stage the Alien Invasion of Penn's Landing on Oct. 25. The event will feature performative sculptures and sound and lighting, all created by Abington students. Details will be release shortly.

"A Puncher's Choice," Maurelle's collection of new work, is a term often used in boxing when a person who is groomed to be inferior has the chance to triumph. In an instant, the smallest opportunity shifts the scales. Anyone can deliver an incapacitating blow, especially if it's delivered with perfect balance, whether it be labor, voice or mindfulness.

Maurelle is an interdisciplinary artist working in sculpture, video, photography and sound art. He investigates the correlation formed between labor and creativity.

Bell, a fourth year student, developed the animal drawings on display in ART421 Advanced Drawing with Julia Clift, an instructor in the art major.

"The goal was to mimic a stop motion animation of animals in movement with each one leading to the next, going into flight. I intended for this work to embrace freedom, with each animal transcending weight, the food chain, and its own boundaries," according to Bell's artist statement. "I used stained paper ... to echo the atmosphere the animals would inhabit."

One of Bell's pieces in the current exhibition, "Run," received the award for excellence in drawing at the 2025 Bertha Lear Student Art Exhibition.

For more information about the artists and gallery hours, visit the Penn State Abington Art Gallery site.

About the Abington Experience

Bell's exhibit and upcoming Seaport Museum event are examples of the Abington Experience, a roadmap of opportunities and experiences designed to launch students from campus to career success.

About Penn State Abington

Penn State Abington provides an affordable, accessible and high-impact education resulting in the success of a diverse student body. It is committed to student success through innovative approaches to 21st-century public higher education within a world-class research university. With more than 3,100 students, Penn State Abington is a residential campus that offers baccalaureate degrees in 26 majors, accelerated master's degrees, undergraduate research, the Schreyer Honors College, NCAA Division III athletics and more