White Gallery features artworks of Dr. Lori Santos, Magister Vladimir Ramos

The Erman B. White Gallery of Art hosts a new exhibit beginning Nov. 7. The second exhibition of the 2022-2023 season features artworks by Dr. Lori Santos and Mg Vladimir Ramos.  The show runs through Dec. 9 with a free, public artist reception held Thursday Nov. 18, from 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. The Erman B. White Gallery of Art is housed inside the Fine Arts Building on the Butler Community College campus in El Dorado, 901 S. Haverhill Road. 

In this exhibition, both artists use image making to excavate and rebuild stories and problematize one’s sense of identity and belonging scattered in place and environment.

Vladimir Ramos’ art “confronts and makes connections between his homeland of Lima, Peru, and the Indigenous Midwest from the 1800s to the present, noting the trauma of stolen land, culture and identity inflected upon the Americans. The bison becomes an intercultural symbol to problematize how the extermination of native food sources, past and present, are used as a tool for cultural eradication.”

In a combined artist statement Santos and Ramos state, “Stories are in us, of us, and around us. We coexist in an organic and creative space spiritually and humanly constructed of stories. Through collaborative and critical dialogue linked to the images and the stories we create; we can bring awareness and direction for growth and change.”

Dr. Lori Santos’ work uses iconic images of people, plants, and animals to retell stories of contradictions through the themes of place, identity and environment, and explore contemporary applications of cultural and social philosophies of art education.

“My students experience the social power of art through service learning and community engagement events,” said Santos. “We explore art as a creative expression that lies at the core of the human experience and provides an essential path for finding common ground and celebrating differences cross-culturally.”

The Erman B. White Gallery of Art provides the opportunity to experience a diversity of art mediums of distinctive visual expression. Exhibits include paintings, prints, drawings, sculptures, architecture, handcrafted jewelry, and photography by both regional and national artists. The E.B. White Gallery is free and open to the public Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Learn more about the White Gallery online or contact Trisha Coates at tcoates1@butlercc.edu.