The Ann Tower Gallery is pleased to present new paintings and sculpture by one of the region's most talented artists, Robert Tharsing, a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Art at the University of Kentucky. An early retirement from UK in 2002 has allowed Tharsing to spend nearly all his time working in his studios in Lexington and Nova Scotia.

Visiting the Caribbean, taking up snorkeling, and discovering a whole new world, pulsing with all sorts of sea life that is invisible from land, has had a major impact on Tharsing's work. About five years ago, he began making paintings that take us beneath the surface - underwater scenes of the places where he has snorkeled and the things he has seen. These evolved into more abstract paintings of wild and raucous imagery drawn from nearly microscopic animals that look like vividly colored flora from another world. The current body of work returns to more realistic images of underwater marine life with an even greater richness and sense of mystery. The large-scaled underwater scenes are complemented with a series of landscapes that depict the places where the water meets the land.

The exhibition will also include several exuberant new pieces of sculpture made from brightly painted driftwood and carved wood that are narrative and comical with quirky characters such as those in "And Now, For the Stars of Our Show…" Three pink-headed figures gesture toward a snake-like animal that balances and twirls several other creatures on its nose.

Tharsing's work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, he has had numerous solo exhibitions, and his work in is many public and private collections.