Source: Elizabeth Seaton, 785-532-7718, lseaton@k-state.edu
Pronouncer: Covacevich is Cah-voss-ah-vich
Web site: http://beach.k-state.edu/

Friday, Jan. 22, 2010

K-STATE'S BEACH MUSEUM OF ART TO EXHIBIT SUE JEAN COVACEVICH'S 'FOLLOWING THE SUN'

MANHATTAN -- The work of versatile Kansas artist Sue Jean Covacevich will be on display at Kansas State University's Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art Jan. 29-May 2.

"Following the Sun: The Art of Sue Jean Covacevich, 1905-1998" will survey the work of Covacevich, who established herself as a dynamic artist and art educator in south-central Kansas after spending more than a decade working and teaching in Mexico.

Covacevich worked in a variety of mediums, including painting, printmaking, mosaic, sculpture and stained glass. The subjects of her art ranged from the Kansas landscape to world monuments.

Most of Covacevich's career was spent in Winfield. She also studied art with Birger Sandzen at Lindsborg's Bethany College. Her instructor became a lifelong friend, guiding her to Mexico City, where she moved in 1932. While in Depression-era Mexico, Covacevich drew inspiration from the country's people, architecture, and folklore and from interactions with figures such as muralist Diego Rivera. She taught at Mexico City's American School before personal struggles brought her home to Kansas in the mid-1940s. She then bloomed as one of that community's most creative forces, establishing the art department at Southwestern College among other professional programs.

Exposure to Mexico's great public murals led Covacevich to accept numerous public commissions in Kansas, including a 63-foot mural for the CornerBank building in Winfield and stained glass windows for the First Christian Church in McPherson. The artist's time in Mexico also produced a wanderlust that propelled her to such places as Russia and the Middle East after the 1950s.

"Following the Sun: The Art of Sue Jean Covacevich, 1905-1998" is sponsored in part by Teresa Covacevich Grana; CornerBank, Winfield; Sue Ellen and Graham Setliff; Ted and Pam Van Dyk; Terry Van Dyk; Mr. and Mrs. Michael Cornfeld, Heritage Investors Management Corporation, Bethesda, Md.; and the Winfield Publishing Company. The exhibition catalogue was funded by K-State alumna Marie Williams Shipley, Lawrenceville, Ga.

For more information, contact the Beach Museum of Art at 785-532-7718 or drop by the museum on the southeast corner of the K-State campus at 14th Street and Anderson Avenue. Free visitor parking is available next to the building. Normal museum hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; and noon to 5 p.m. Sundays. The museum is closed Mondays.