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SALISBURY, MD---The Guerrieri University Center Art Space hosts the exhibit “Portraits in Color” by senior Claire Strayer from March 5-April 4.

A native of Southern Maryland, Strayer grew up in a family of artists. She is pursuing a B.F.A., with a concentration in painting, at SU.

“My work is a celebration of the depth of humans beyond what is visually and conceptually seen at a first glance,” she said. “I choose the figure because in this budding stage as an artist, I believe the lessons I can learn through mastering the figure will guide me in other directions I may take in the future. Placing a figure in a narrative is immediately relatable to viewers as we are all figures in the narratives of our lives.

“At first glance, a person is just a person, but behind what you see is an always energetic world: uncontrollable forces constantly pushing and pulling and that person’s retaliations. We all have hundreds of these forces.

“A big force for me was that I wrestled with a serious obsessive compulsive disorder since early adolescence. Sometimes I had control over it, and sometimes I didn’t. Sometimes I felt ruled by shame and embarrassment, and sometimes I was completely confident. I utilize light and color to symbolize this sort of concept with my figures.”

The Art Space is located in the Guerrieri Center’s second-floor concourse. Admission is free and the public is invited. For more information call 410-543-6247 or visit the Art Space website at /guc/artspace.