ART COLLECTION AT HINDS CC--- “Hidden Gems” is on display now in the Marie Hull Art Gallery with paintings chosen from the permanent collection by HCC Art Department Chair and Instructor Lee Reyna Levya-Lopez.

Hinds Community College owns a permanent collection of fine art that has been curated for decades by art department chairmen and instructors. The collection is stored on site in the art department on the Raymond Campus, but there are also works on display in offices throughout Hinds’ 6 campuses.

On display now in the Marie Hull Art Gallery is the show “Hidden Gems” with paintings chosen from the permanent collection by Art Department Chair and Instructor Lee Reyna Levya-Lopez.

She is also director of the Marie Hull Art Gallery and is responsible for coordinating art shows.

For Hidden Gems, she has a quality collection of works she was able to pull from, such as Marie Hull’s oil paintings and watercolors by beloved art instructor and Professor Emeritus Bob Dunaway.

“For this show I chose landscapes because I am trying to encourage our drawing students to go outside and explore landscape art. I also chose non-objective works like Marie Hull’s paintings. Those help my design students and gives them something to learn from,” she said.

Hidden Gems features three paintings by Mari Hull, a name well recognized in the art world.

“Those are extremely special,” Leyva-Lopez said, “and it’s so great for us to have those works in our collection.”

The Marie Hull Art Gallery has at least four shows each school year that include outside artists. In the fall faculty members have a show; in the spring, students have a show.

Levya-Lopez said that art is usually purchased for the permanent collection from a gallery show. Typically, works on display in the gallery have a price on them for sale by the artists. However, works from the permanent collection are not for sale. Much of the permanent collection was purchased from artists during their show in the Gallery.

“I’m looking subjectively, but also objectively at artists’ works, and I ask myself, what can we learn from them” she said, “and the decision typically comes down to, if they have credentials, such as a master’s degree, what sort of experience do they have, what kind of background in art do they have.

“I also look at what other instructors are interested in. For example, our next show is a ceramist, so that will appeal more to our ceramics instructor (Lee McCarty) and that will help him to have something for students to look at and to learn from,” Lopez-Leyva said.

Hidden Gems will be on display in the Marie Hull Art Gallery until Sept. 14. The gallery’s hours are Monday - Thursday, 8 a.m. till 3 p.m. and Fridays 8 a.m. till 11:30 a.m.