THE CARNIVAL Portraits By Sarah Jacobs, On Display At The Majestic Art Gallery

"The Carnival," a display of multimedia paintings by Gettysburg College alum Sarah Jacobs, is on display at the Majestic Theater's art gallery now through the end of August. The gallery is open daily during Majestic business hours. Jacobs will hold a gallery talk Friday, June 3 at 7:30 p.m. at the Majestic.

"My multi-media paintings play with the figure/ground relationship using design principals. That means that the visual depth in my imagery is often confusing. It's difficult at times to tell what is in front and what is behind in my compositions," explains Jacobs of her work. "Patterns, which normally flatten an image, are at times manipulated to appear to have volume. At other times patterns' flatness contrasts with the visual volume of realistically rendered figures, or the figures are painted with colors relating to nearby patterns to blend in, like camouflage, or subjects overlap in nonsensical ways."

"The Carnival" features a series of portraits, and is named for the traveling carnival which visits Jacobs hometown of Littlestown, each August. As a child, Jacobs recalled reuniting with neighborhood kids for rides, fried food, dart games and gossip. The project was born out of similar yearning for reunion during the early days of the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, when Sarah, living in Pittsburgh, missed family and friends and dreamed about meeting again. She interviewed subjects about meaningful symbols and colors in their lives, how they think of themselves, how they wanted to be portrayed, and incorporated that into her work.

After graduating from Littlestown High School Sarah attended Gettysburg College to study Art History and went on to earn her Master of Fine Arts Degree in painting from MICA in Baltimore before moving to the UK for over three years. She now teaches at Carlow University in Pittsburgh. Her work has been exhibited in the US and in Europe and she has taken part in artist residencies in Germany, Colombia, and New Mexico. She has won multiple grants, including the Arts Council England Grant, and her work can be found in public and private collections in the US, UK, and Hong Kong. She has had solo and two person exhibitions in New York City, London, Wrocław, Poland and Bristol, England, among other cities.

"The Carnival" is open to the public daily during regular box office hours, Monday through Friday, 3 - 7 p.m., Saturday, 12 - 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, 1 - 5 p.m. Admission is free. The Majestic Theater is located at 25 Carlisle St., Gettysburg. Metered parking is available at the Gettysburg Borough Parking Garage in Race Horse Alley as well as along Carlisle Street. In addition to the Majestic Theater Art Gallery, further pieces in "The Carnival" will be exhibited in windows of the Grant Building on Lincoln Square, and non-portrait works will be displayed at the Adams County Arts Council throughout the summer.

The Majestic Theater at the Jennifer and David LeVan Performing Arts Center is owned and operated by Gettysburg College as a gathering place for its campus and community to celebrate the arts together.