Seton Hill University’s Harlan Gallery is proud to present “Concrete Place: Change, Memory, and Relocation via the Amos K. Hutchinson Bypass (Toll 66),” by artist David Kasparek from March 12 – April 4. David Kasparek will discuss his work at a gallery talk on Friday, March 23 at 7 p.m. Running concurrently with “Concrete Place” will be a photo exhibit on the Lincoln Highway presented by the Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor. Both exhibits and the gallery talk are free and open to the public.

“Concrete Place: Change, Memory and Relocation via the Amos K. Hutchinson Bypass (Toll 66),” is a mixed media exhibit that includes painting, photography and archival prints, and was inspired by the changes to David Kasparek’s childhood neighborhood, which existed at the site of the current Amos Hutchinson bypass near Greensburg, Pa.

“The phrase ‘take a trip down memory lane’ becomes a literal experience when I drive past – and over – the place in which I grew up,” says Kasparek, a 1996 Seton Hill graduate and current artist and professor of graphic design at Messiah College in Grantham, Pa. “Although the Bypass did erase that place, ironically, I see the Bypass as the perfect metaphor for navigating the memories of that place and time… Although I am saddened by the loss of the valley to a four-lane bypass, ‘Concrete Place’ is not necessarily an environmental statement. Likewise, I hesitate to say the road displaced us as a family. On the contrary, the road provided a catalyst for positive (and interesting) change … (our) new residence was ironically located just off the first free exit before PA Toll 66 begins. The move simply took us to another point along the road.”

Harlan Gallery is a professional exhibition space open to the public free of charge, located in Reeves Hall on Seton Hill’s Greensburg, Pa. campus. Harlan Gallery is open during the academic year: Monday – Thursday 5 – 8 p.m., Friday 1– 3 p.m. and Sunday 1 – 4 p.m. For more information on Harlan Gallery, please contact Harlan Gallery Director Carol Brode at 724-830-1071 or brode@setonhill.edu.