2/4/97 Contact: Sally Delgado, Ohio University, 614/593-1304

ATHENS, Ohio -- A public reception will be held from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Friday (Feb. 7) at the Kennedy Museum of American Art to celebrate the opening of "Ynez Johnston: A Retrospective," a new exhibition that will remain on display through April 18.

The exhibition of paintings, prints and sculpture represents Johnston's nearly 50-year career, which was launched after her inclusion in the 1950 "New Talent" exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Johnston's work has been exhibited widely since then in the United States and abroad, and is included in many major museum collections, including New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art and the National Museum of American Art in Washington, D.C.

"Ynez Johnston's work reflects a sense of place which combines the architectural with the mythical, and fantasy with the known and experienced," said Sally Delgado, assistant director of the museum for exhibitions and programs. "By her own description, Painting is like a voyage into the unfathomable, the end being unpredictable.'"

Johnston's extensive travels are reflected in her imagery, which includes Mayan and Tibetan influences and "an endless and untiring delving into the imagination," Delgado said.

The museum also features the continuing exhibitions "A Century of Weaving: The Navajo Chief Blanket," "Fresh Perspectives: Young People's Art from Southeastern Ohio" and "Birds of Paradise."

Admission is free. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. The museum also will offer special hours on Saturday (Feb. 8) from 10 a.m. to noon.