Tuesday, December 9, 2025
Photos by Anna E. Reed, photographer (student) and Rob Hinkal, social media specialist, except as credited.
Adrian Gor, a Romanian-born artist who recently had a collection of artwork, “Masses of the Undone,” on display in The Gallery at Penn College, demonstrates his technique for students in a Penn College drawing class. He conducted two workshops for students while on campus.
Contemporary artist Adrian Gor recently offered two workshops for students in the drawing classes taught by Kathryn M. Anderson, instructor of graphic design, and Joanna Yoder, instructor of photography.
Gor’s work, “Masses of the Undone,” was on exhibit in The Gallery at Penn College through the end of November. The large-scale charcoal and pastel drawings were created over the course of three years by the Romanian-born artist and merge Eastern medieval iconography with the Western contemporary art world. His art explores the psychological and cultural dimensions of masculinity.
He invited students to dig deeper into reinterpreting traditional and symbolic representations of the human figure, examining the anatomical structure of the human body using a full skeleton as reference and emphasizing proportion, gesture and form.
Gallery Director Penny G. Lutz said students observed techniques for translating skeletal landmarks into dynamic figure studies, with attention to line quality and spatial relationships.
A student observes Gor’s process during a drawing workshop. Participants were encouraged to dig deeper into interpreting traditional and symbolic representations of the human figure.
Twenty students attended the workshop, which took place during the first half of a regularly scheduled class, during Yoder’s class time, and an additional 12 participated during Anderson’s class. Some students also joined the group from other classes. One of the workshops was recorded, as well, so instructors could share the video with drawing classes that weren’t being held when Gor was on campus.
“After the workshop, the students continued drawing the anatomy of the skeleton using techniques Gor showed us during the workshop,” Yoder said. “It was beneficial for students to see professional works of art in a gallery setting, as many of them had never seen artwork in a gallery before.”
Some compared the artist’s work to a fever dream, while others commented on his use of strong contrasting colors to make the pieces pop and contoured lines to add texture and depth.
“It was reminiscent of some of H.R. Giger’s artworks, which is an artist I find fascinating,” said game & simulation programming student Cherry J. Leib, of Harrisburg. “I enjoy the imagery of the men seemingly reaching towards the sky, with their bodies contorted and heads on their stomachs. It produces a very striking effect and makes me wonder just what the picture is meant to convey.”
Ashley M. Rempe, of Muncy, a graphic design student, said it was helpful to hear Gor describe his technique.
“I really enjoyed seeing Gor explain how he created his drawings, then actually being able to see him draw the proportions of the skeleton,” she said. “It helped me in my own drawing to get the proportions of the human face in the correct position.”
To learn more about the art programs offered at Penn College, call 570-327-4521 or visit www.pct.edu/bas.
The Gallery at Penn College is closed through Jan. 12 in preparation for the next exhibit. Regular hours are 2 to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, noon to 4 p.m. Fridays and 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays. It is closed on Mondays and Saturdays.
In addition to serving as an educational resource for Penn College students and a cultural asset to the college and community, The Gallery at Penn College is dedicated to promoting art appreciation through exhibitions of contemporary art.
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