Brad Kunkle, artist in residence

Brad Kunkle, famous for his use of silver and gold leaf in mixed-media paintings of romantic figures and dreamy landscapes, takes up a monthlong residency at Cal Lutheran.

Kunkle grew up in rural Pennsylvania, where he roamed fields and forests, imagining himself in the worlds created by the American icon Maxfield Parrish. His paintings are gorgeous, rich fantasies of an autumn world. He’s rightly been compared to Gustav Klimt, and recently has begun to blend video and music with paintings in art installations. “The power and beauty of the feminine” are “constant in my ideology…,” he says. “I think it’s time for a shift in our thinking of how humans treat one another.”

An opening reception will be held at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 3. Meet the artist and visit regularly to watch him make a new piece of art, using the Kwan Fong Gallery as his studio.

Admission is free. The Kwan Fong Gallery, located in Soiland Humanities Center, is open to the public 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Visitor parking is available in the lots on Mountclef Boulevard north and south of Olsen Road. Street parking is by permit from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Image: "Cocoon" by Brad Kunkle