Tuscaloosa, Ala. –The Sarah Moody Gallery of Art at The University of Alabama surveys the contemporary painting of nine regional artists with the exhibition “New Currents in Regional Painting.” The exhibition opens March 3 with a reception from 6-8 p.m. at the gallery.

Artists represented include: Nancy Baker from Raleigh, N.C.; Barbara Campbell from Greensboro, N.C.; Michael Ray Charles from Austin, Texas; Tim Crowder from Memphis, Tenn.; Hamlett Dobbins from Memphis, Tenn.; Jonathan Jacquet from Athens, Ga.; Amy Pleasant from Birmingham; Joey Slaughter from Monroe, La.; and Hilary Wilder from Houston, Texas.

Brian Bishop, assistant professor of art at UA, is the curator for the group exhibition. “This exhibition is an inquiry into the prevailing trends that inform painting and culture in the Southeast,” Bishop said. The artists demonstrate how contemporary painting is constructed from a set of practices that is constantly being (re)defined and discovered, he said.

“As evidenced in this exhibition, contemporary painting incorporates elements of sculpture, installation, photography, printmaking and digital media,” Bishop said. “Yet paradoxically, some of the most provocative painting made today relies on the time-honored techniques of the great European masters.”

The exhibition opens March 3 and shows through April 3. Gallery hours are

9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays and 2-5 p.m. on Sunday. For further information, please contact the gallery, located in Garland Hall, at www.art.ua.edu or 205/348-1891.

Funding support for the Sarah Moody Gallery of Art comes from the department of art and the College of Arts & Sciences.

The College of Arts and Sciences is the University’s largest division and the largest public liberal arts college in the state with 6,600 students and 360 faculty. Students from the College have won numerous national awards including Rhodes Scholarships, Goldwater Scholarships, and memberships on the “USA Today” Academic All American Team.