Bliss Hall exhibit shows art of late YSU professor

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

An exhibit of art by the late Michael J. Walusis, a retired art professor at Youngstown State University, opens Saturday at the Bliss Hall Gallery on the YSU campus.

An opening reception is scheduled for 2 to 4 p.m. that day as part of the YSU Summer Festival of the Arts. The exhibit, which features a collection of paintings and screen prints that Walusis created in his studio in Hermitage, Pa., will remain on display through Aug. 3. Gallery hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Walusis died unexpectedly of natural causes last summer. He taught printmaking and design at YSU for 40 years, including several years as chair of the art department.

Walusis’ artistic creativity ranged from the realistic to the abstract. In his later works, he tended to use bright, vibrant colors and even began to rework some of his earlier pieces. He often used printer’s ink instead of paint and worked on both canvas and paper.