DeLuce Gallery to exhibit work by Arkansas-based artist and illustrator

Northwest Missouri State University’s School of Fine and Performing Arts will feature an exhibition next month with work by Sean Fitzgibbon, an Arkansas-based illustrator and artist, in its Olive DeLuce Art Gallery. 

Fitzgibbon will deliver a lecture in conjunction with the exhibit opening at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 3, in the Charles Johnson Theater at the Olive Deluce Fine Arts Building, followed by a reception. Both events are free and open to the public.

He will also visit Northwest art classes and speak to students in a modern and contemporary art history class and conduct studio critiques with advanced art and design students.  

Cover art for Sean Fitzgibbon's graphic nonfiction book, “What Follows is True: The Crescent Hotel.”

Fitzgibbon is a 2022 recipient of the Arkansas Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship Award for his graphic nonfiction book, “What Follows is True: The Crescent Hotel.” A Kirkus Star recipient, the book investigates the Crescent Hotel’s two years as the Baker Hospital, a Depression-era cancer hospital in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. The book explores the intersection of history, folklore and cultural memory. 

He says his ties to Missouri and book research drew him to Northwest. The exhibition will feature original pages from the book.

“I’m originally from Missouri, so I’ve always felt a strong connection to this region,” Fitzgibbon said. “My book centers on Norman Baker, who was from Muscatine, Iowa, not far from northern Missouri. In preparing for this project, I spent time in Muscatine, meeting and interviewing many wonderful people, which deepened both my research and my personal ties to the area.” 

Fitzgibbon is also an adjunct instructor at Northwest Arkansas Community College. He is passionate about teaching students how to communicate through art in impactful ways and teaching art as a medium that connects with culture and history. 

“I want to show students how to follow their interests and transform them into meaningful creative projects, like illustrated narrative books,” Fitzgibbon said. “I’ll also share how I was able to fund my work early on, offering practical advice they can apply to their own endeavors.” 

Dr. Karen Britt, associate professor of art and assistant chair of the School of Fine and Performing Arts, said Fitzgibbon’s visit is important for students to learn about his integration of digital and traditional methods. 

“It’s really important for our students to have an opportunity to engage with an artist and illustrator whose work aligns with broader shifts occurring in fine arts today,” Britt said. “The illustrations in Sean’s graphic books derive from his traditional paintings. In our program, we stress the importance of students developing what we call ‘material intelligence.’ Tactile learning helps students understand the properties of real materials. Concepts such as line, shape, form, and texture are almost impossible to understand if not practiced by hand. The physical element, what we refer to as hand skill, is a crucial part of the education of students working in both digital and traditional methods.”

At Northwest, Britt teaches courses in art history and says Fitzgibbon’s work connects to topics explored by her students. 

“It’s about local history,” Britt said. “It’s about community. It’s also about exposing periods in the past where things happened that should not have happened. Sean’s work grapples with a timeless subject: preying on those in society who are vulnerable. In this particular case, highlighting the damage caused by medical fraud helps to ensure that, going forward, such things don’t happen again. His work really encapsulates why not just art students but all students study history, so that dimension of his work is exciting to me.” 

Funding support for Fitzgibbon’s visit and exhibit comes from the Missouri Arts Council. 

All art exhibits at Northwest are free and open to the public on the first floor of the Olive DeLuce Fine Arts Building. Gallery hours this fall are noon to 5 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays. 

For more information, contact the School of Fine and Performing Arts at 660.562.1326 or fparts@nwmissouri.edu.