Portrait work of local artists featured in upcoming exhibit at TROY’s International Arts Center

An exhibit featuring a collection of portraits from four local artists will open Sept. 6 in the Huo Bao Zhu Gallery at Troy University’s International Arts Center.

In “A Portrait Collective: Featuring works by Elana Hagler, Mark Moseley, Sergei Shillabeer, and Diddy Vucovich,” the artists explore portraiture in their unique styles, reflecting on the profound storytelling potential of capturing the image of a person and their narrative. An artists’ reception will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. on Oct. 6, and the exhibit will be on display through Nov. 18.

“We are proud to show the work of these four noteworthy, local portraitists,” said Carrie Jaxon, Director and Curator of the International Arts Center. “The four artists were chosen for their variety in styles, experience, and talent. Artists throughout time have pursued the portrait as a means of expression of not only the subject, but of themselves and their perspective. In an age where we are overly attached to technology and screens, it’s refreshing to present a collection of work where the human gaze and presence is the focus.”

Two of the featured TROY artists are former painting Professor Sergei Shillabeer and Mark Moseley, a current TROY Marketing Department visual artist.

The portrait work of former TROY painting Professor Sergei Shillabeer also will be included in the exhibit.

Shillabeer (1946 – 2017) taught Studio Art and Art History in the Department of Art and Design from 1972 to 2005. Born in Binghamton, N.Y., Shillabeer completed his education with a Master of Fine Arts from the Instituto Allende, San Miguel de Allende in Mexico. His work has been exhibited throughout the Southeastern United States and Mexico.

Moseley is a former painting student of Shillabeer’s and resides in Elba. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts from TROY’s Department of Art and Design in 1996, and a Master’s in Education with emphasis in Art in 1999. Alongside his painting commissions, Moseley is a skilled photographer and has traveled internationally to photograph for TROY.

Montgomery native and TROY alumna Diddy Vucovich has been a professional artist and art instructor for over 30 years. She finds inspiration in the realism of William Adolph Bouguereau, the excitement of Impressionism and the timeless works of the Italian Renaissance. In her early career, works ranged from angelic figures and pleine aire landscapes. After instruction from Marvin Mattelson and the Cumberland Group she added portraiture to her works. Her medium is pastel, graphite and oil paint.

Elana Hagler, who was originally born in Tel Aviv, Israel, and immigrated to the United States at the age of five, is a former Pike Road resident who has recently relocated to her home state of California. She received her Bachelor of Arts in both Studio Art and Psychology from Brandeis University in Boston and her Master of Fine Arts from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia. She has taught painting at several colleges around the United States. Hagler designs coins and medals for the United States Mint as part of their Artistic Infusion Program where her design was selected for the George H. W. Bush Presidential coin and, most recently, the Sally Ride quarter.

Admission is free. The IAC is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m. For additional information about this or other exhibits, call 334-80-6412 or visit the website at www.troy.edu/iac.