Storrs Library hosts memorial exhibit of Max Standley’s artwork

Date: 9/11/2014

LONGMEADOW –The artistic works of Max Standley currently line the walls of the Storrs Library’s Betty Ann Low Room as part of free public exhibit featuring 29 paintings and eight wood carvings, wrought in the imagery of nature, and are available to view until Oct. 3.

Standley was born in Wichita, Kan., in 1942 and for nearly 40 years he created oil paintings, engraving, poetry, and drawings steeped in symbolism combined with hints of magical and biomorphic imagery.

One oil painting featured at Storrs, “A Turn for the Better,” shows human eyes and faces hidden in crinkled leaves beneath the feet of a red spotted turtle meandering past a row of bright green fiddleheads.

Standley passed away on Sept. 3, 2013, at his home on a secluded 40 acres within the forests of Arkansas and from June 7 to Aug. 31, the R. Michelson Galleries in Northampton featured an exhibition of his work in memoriam.

Part of the collection featured at the R. Michelson Galleries was moved to the Storrs Library, comprising the library exhibit, Storrs Librarian Heather Marchetta, said.
 
“My work is a part I play in nature’s drama and is a form of self development,” a quote from Standley on the R. Michelson Galleries website states. “Archetypical symbolism is an integral part of the process.”

Marchetta said there are several collections at Storrs, including “Evolution and Time,” which shows the world inhabited equally by the living and the dead and features the symbolism of the spiral as a depiction of the slow and continuous change of life.

“Ancient Shoreline,” a painting from that collection, depicts a light brown squirrel standing on rock comprised of at least 100 spiraled fossils set amidst a background of rolling emerald hills and wispy clouds.

Other collections of Standley’s work include “Sanctuary,” oil paintings that specifically show forests and wooded areas, and the “Trail of Tears” series, a depiction of the forced relocation of Native American tribes by the U.S. government in the 1830s. An estimated 4,000 to 8,000 Cherokee people died of starvation during the roughly 2,200-mile journey. 

The Storrs Library has also featured the artistic work of town residents and other individuals from across New England in the past, she said.

Cindy Lutz Kornet, an art teacher at Lubavitcher Yeshiva Academy in Longmeadow, whose work is thematically inspired by spirituality, was featured at Storrs Library in 2013 and 2014, added Marchetta.

Jim Gillen, a nature photographer from Hampden, was also featured at Storrs Library in 2013, she said.

The Storrs Library began their artist exhibits in November 2011, Marchetta said.

The first art featured at the Betty Ann Low room were pieces from students at the Springfield Museums. Student art will also be exhibited in November and December of 2014.

Marchetta said that in her opinion art promotes discussion and creates a sense of communication even if someone likes or dislikes a particular piece of art.