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‘Expressing Nature’s Value’ Opens in Ellis Hall at Hendrix College

September 23 event celebrates Steel Center’s year-long exhibition of three artists’ works


Shannon Evans, number twenty one (2018); oil on canvas; 60 x 54 inches.

CONWAY, Arkansas (September 19, 2022)—Can we express the value of nature? Experiences of natural environments involve perceptions of the beauty of a flower, the sublimity of a tornado, the wonder of the starry sky. Some theorists have suggested that the value of nature outstrips artistic expression, that there’s always some color, some sound, some movement, or some power missing in attempts to represent nature. However, landscape artists have employed a variety of strategies for trying to capture the beauty, sublimity, and wonder of nature. 

Artists Shannon Evans, Ginger Knowlton, and Cydney Williams each have two pieces in the Expressing Nature’s Value exhibition, sponsored and hosted by the Marshall T. Steel Center for the Study of Religion and Philosophy. The opening will be held in Ellis Hall on the campus of Hendrix College from 4 to 5:30 p.m. on Friday, September 23 (find Ellis Hall on the campus map). This event is free and open to all. Introductions and a talk by the artists will begin at 4 p.m.

Expressing Nature’s Value aims to present diverse strategies in landscape painting that can be employed to highlight the value of nature. The Steel Center welcomes guests to explore those strategies through the works of these three artists from across the country that each create landscape works. The exhibition will remain in place for one year.

About Hendrix College

A private liberal arts college in Conway, Arkansas, Hendrix College consistently earns recognition as one of the country’s leading liberal arts institutions and is featured in Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About Colleges. Its academic quality and rigor, innovation, and value have established Hendrix as a fixture in numerous college guides, lists, and rankings. Founded in 1876, Hendrix has been affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884. To learn more, visit www.hendrix.edu.