Exploring the Collection: Alice Baber

East Gallery

October 4, 2025 - February 22, 2026

Charles A. Gick is an interdisciplinary artist who combines and moves between painting, video, performance, photography, sculpture, and installation art. His work continues to receive both national and international recognition. He was the first recipient of the Purdue University Affiliated Fellowship at the American Academy in Rome.

Gick has also exhibited his work in several international group exhibitions in countries such as Korea, Kosovo, Cyprus, Bulgaria, and Russia, and was selected as the only US representative included in “Curated Special Selections from Videoholica,” which was exhibited in Belgrade, Serbia, Milan, Italy, and Copenhagen, Denmark. He has presented artist lectures and academic research nationally and internationally. Gick received his BFA Degree in Painting and Printmaking from the Kansas City Art Institute and his MFA Degree in Painting from Northwestern University. He is currently a Professor of Art at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana

December 19, 2025 - February 22, 2026

McDonald Gallery

The collection of artwork is inspired by patterns that form throughout generations.  Some works internalize moments while others project a path.  The artist’s work focuses on values and knowledge that are passed down with the intention of providing security for the future. 

Jennifer Halvorson is an artist and educator. Born in St. Louis, she earned dual B.F.A. degrees in Metal and Glass at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. In 2005, she also studied abroad at the Australian National University in Canberra.

After completing her undergraduate studies in 2007, Jennifer traveled to Denmark as a Fulbright Scholar. She continued studying glass at Danmarks Designskole in Copenhagen and became an assistant to glass artists Steffen Dam and Micha Karslund.

Jennifer earned her Master of Fine Arts in Glass from the Rochester Institute of Technology, within the School for American Crafts, in 2011. She has been a resident artist at Wheaton Arts and Cultural Center, Southern Illinois University, and the Toledo Art Museum.

Since fall 2012, Jennifer has been working as a Professor of Art at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. She teaches a range of courses within the studios of glass, metal, and sculpture. Jennifer has also taught kiln cast workshops in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Jennifer's work has been exhibited internationally and throughout the United States and Europe. Her work has been featured in New Glass Review 35 and 32, published by the Corning Museum of Glass, and also featured in Art Colossal and American Craft.

January 24, 2026 - May 10, 2026

Shook Gallery

LaDonna is originally from Paducah, Kentucky, but has lived in Lafayette for many years. She works across a wide range of artistic media and subjects, painting portraits, murals, furniture, and anything that captures her interest in the moment. She enjoys watercolor, pastel, acrylic, graphite, oil, and sculpture equally — as long as she can explore color and image, she feels at home creatively.

LaDonna draws inspiration from many places: the expression in someone’s eyes, the delicacy of a flower, the hues in a piece of yarn, a striking photograph, or the way light and shadow fall across an object. Her interests, talents, and aspirations center on envisioning, creating, and bringing works of art to life.

Her artwork has appeared on a diverse range of surfaces and products, including large-scale billboards, furniture, brochures, indoor and outdoor murals, walls and ceilings, and both two- and three-dimensional gallery installations.

Over the years, LaDonna has received numerous awards in various art competitions. She continues to nourish her spirit by creating meaningful work and sharing her artistic gifts with others.

January 24, 2026 - May 31st 2026

Weil Gallery

Alice Baber‭ (‬1928-1982‭) ‬was an American abstract expressionist painter‭, ‬best known for the organic‭, ‬biomorphic forms she painted‭ ‬using a staining technique which allowed her to explore pure color and elicit a sense of radiant light‭. ‬Born in Charleston‭, ‬Illinois‭, ‬Baber spent her childhood winters in Florida due to poor health‭. ‬Drawing attracted her from an early age‭, ‬and by the time‭ ‬she was twelve she already attended college-level classes‭. ‬Upon graduation from high school‭, ‬she joined Lindenwood College in Missouri‭, ‬and soon transferred to the more competitive Indiana University‭, ‬Bloomington‭, ‬where she was able to study with the figurative expressionist painter‭, ‬Alton Pickens‭. ‬Baber completed her Master of Arts degree in 1951‭ ‬and travelled to Europe‭, ‬where she spent a short period studying at the École des Beaux‭- ‬Arts in Fontainebleau‭, ‬France‭, ‬before settling in New York City‭. ‬During‭ ‬the second half of the 1950s, Baber supported herself by writing for McCall’s magazine‭, ‬where she then became the arts editor‭. ‬She also joined the March Gallery roster‭, ‬which was one of the Tenth Street artists’‭ ‬co-ops‭. ‬

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