I hadn’t visited Gallery 141, 113 N. Water St., Lancaster, for a while, so last Friday I stopped by and found, not only a display of paintings by Jacques Abreu, but the artist himself, offering information on the Chabod Academy of the Arts and its upcoming performances (see below).
He describes his paintings as “the story of my life.” And the paintings tell a colorful story, in graphic images, symbols and words, of the journey of his soul, through trials and doubts to renewal and an affirmation of faith. “Christ brings you to a place of completeness,” comments Abreu. He experiments with mixed media - stain, house paint, acrylics, paints that “hate each other” - to create unusual effects. Abreu, who was born in the Welsh Mountain area, started painting in his parents’ basement a few years ago. He lives in East Lampeter Township and directs and teaches street art at the Chabod Academy (formerly the Capitol Academy) in New Holland. The show runs through Saturday. (Here is some more information on Abreu from an earlier show at Gallery 141.)
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The Chabod Academy’s performers have a doubleheader production set for Friday and Saturday at the Garden Spot High School’s auditorium. A one-hour recital “filled with dance, street art, sign language and multimedia” will start at 6:30 p.m., and a production of Anne of Green Gables will start at 8 p.m. both days. Tickets are $6 adults, $4 students. In addition, Chabod’s drama group Infusion will present Kingdom Come at 2 p.m. Saturday; admission is free. Garden Spot High School is located at 669 E. Main St., New Holland.
